Baby Love
by rubycaspar
Summary: After accidentally activating an Ancient device John and Teyla find themselves the proud parents of a baby girl. Suddenly they must learn to deal with diapers, 2am feedings and their new family ties. Sheyla, slight SG1 crossover. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – All I own is the plot of this story. Alas.

Summary – John and Teyla accidentally activate an Ancient device with unusual results…

_This is set about five months after the Season Three finale. _

Chapter One

"How much longer?"

John picked up a loose piece of marble from the floor and flicked it away as if he were skimming a stone. It skipped once on the floor and skidded into the corner of the corridor. He looked round at Ronon, who had spoken. The Satedan was leaning back against the wall a few feet away. Teyla sat on the floor next to him. She was aiming a torch at the wall opposite them, providing light for Rodney who was fiddling with the crystals in the control panel next to a door.

He had been playing with that thing for almost fifteen minutes, and the door was staying obstinately shut.

Rodney completely ignored Ronon's question, seeing as he had asked the exact same thing only a minute before. Ronon did not like sitting around doing nothing.

John wasn't having much fun either. They were in an unexplored part of the city, by the Northern pier which they had been exploring it for three hours, and had found nothing. This part of the city was mainly residential, but according to the schematics there had been a large lab complex here as well and this was the room they were trying to get into. Rodney couldn't detect any energy readings coming from inside the room, and seeing as they couldn't open the doors John was seriously considering giving up and going back. He picked up another piece of marble and skimmed it across the floor to join the other five he had thrown.

Suddenly the control panel turned blue and the doors to the lab opened, expelling a cloud of dust. Rodney's cry of triumph turned into a cough as he swallowed it. Ronon pushed himself away from the wall and thumped the wheezing scientist on the back, peering into the dark room he had opened.

"Well done McKay," he said. "About time too."

Rodney gave one last cough and glared at him. "Thanks for all your help," he said sarcastically.

"Alright, alright," John said, stepping in between the two men. "Let's just have a look around, shall we?"

He switched on the torch on top of his P-90. Teyla and Rodney did the same, and Ronon pulled out his handgun. The four of them cautiously made their way into the lab.

It was very dark, and all their small torches told them was that it was very large. John took a couple of steps to the left, near to where the light controls were usually situated. Unlike other rooms in Atlantis, though, this one did not activate when it felt his presence. John shone his torch at the wall, at the light control. It was there, but it didn't do anything, even when he waved his hand over it.

"Rodney, do you think you can get the lights working?" John asked.

Rodney walked over to him and peered at the control. "I'll try," he said in a long-suffering voice.

John left him to it and rejoined Teyla and Ronon, who were walking forward into the darkness. After a few steps the light from their torches shone on something in front of them – some kind of raised platform in the centre of the room. The three of them approached it cautiously, eyes and ears peeled for any sign of movement.

There was nothing. They reached the platform. It was about four feet high, and there were three sets of steps leading up onto it – one in each corner, and one in the middle. The corners were more circles than angles, and the steps led onto these. John shone his torch onto the platform but he couldn't see anything; it just seemed to go back, like a stage.

John smiled slightly at the thought that maybe they had found Atlantis' theatre. He shone his torch to the left and skirted round the circular corner of the platform to look at the side of it. It seemed to be made of the same kind of marble as the rest of the city, and he couldn't see anything to identify it as anything other than an ordinary stage.

He went back to the front of the platform. Teyla was climbing the steps at the other corner circle. John thought for a second of telling her to climb back down, but it looked like whatever was on this platform was a long way back.

Teyla got to the top of the steps and stood on the circle, shining her torch at the floor.

"Anything?" John asked. His voice echoed loudly in the empty room.

"There are lines scratched into the stone," Teyla replied. "I think it is just decoration."

Ronon was walking towards the steps in the centre of the platform. The steps up to the other corner circle were right next to John, so he started to climb them. He shone his torch at the floor which was, as Teyla had said, carved with fine lines that didn't form any symbols he recognised. He stepped carefully onto the platform.

As soon as he had both feet on the platform John realised that it was definitely not a stage.

Blue light snaked along the lines they had taken for carvings, seeming to originate from under his feet. The light spread outwards towards the edge of the circle quite slowly, like water in between paving slabs. John tried to get back to the steps but found that he couldn't move his feet. And it wasn't as if his shoes were simply stuck to the floor. It felt as though his legs underneath his knees had been set in concrete.

"Uh..."

"Colonel Sheppard!"

John's head whipped round to look at Teyla. The circle she was standing on had also lit up, and judging by the way she was swaying she was held by the same invisible force as he was.

"What the hell!" Ronon exclaimed from where he stood on the steps in the middle of the platform. He jumped off of them as soon as he saw what was happening.

"What's going on up there?" Called Rodney's voice from by the door.

John looked back down at his feet. The blue light had reached the edge of the circle, which was now starting to glow with a white light slowly growing in intensity. John looked over his shoulder in Rodney's direction.

"McKay we could use some help over here!" He called.

"What – hang on, I think I've got the lights –" Sure enough the lights came on and John could see the rest of the room and what they were dealing with. Not that it helped them much.

He could now see that the platform stretched back a good thirty metres. It was completely level except for a metre high block near the back that looked almost like an altar. A large diamond-shaped piece of glass set into the front of it was glowing blue.

John looked over at Teyla just as she looked at him. He could see how panicked she was, though she was trying to appear calm. John shared her feelings – who knew what this machine was supposed to do.

The white light in the circle at Teyla's feet started to move up, almost like a mist. It snaked up past her knees and hips. Teyla was still staring at John – or rather his waist. He looked down himself and saw the light at his feet had done the same to him. It didn't hurt at all – it didn't feel like anything. The light continued to move up his body, past his chest and neck. As it moved past his face and obscured his vision he heard Rodney's voice from next to the platform.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing!" John yelled indignantly. "Will you turn it off?"

"How did you turn it on?"

"I didn't!" The light was now completely surrounding him, and starting to move inwards.

"I can't see a control panel – it must have reacted to your gene…"

"MCKAY!"

The light was very close to him now and he had to close his eyes against it. Then, suddenly, it was gone, and John felt his legs suddenly released. His knees shook and he swayed back, but managed to regain his balance before he fell. He looked across at Teyla. She was crouching on her own circle, looking shaken but physically fine.

John looked down at Rodney and Ronon, but neither were looking at him. They were watching the platform light up.

Two strands of white light were running across the front of the platform towards each other. They met in the middle, above the middle steps. The two strands of light formed one blue strand and raced towards the altar thing at the back of the platform. It hit it and the diamond-shaped glass glowed white.

Then all the lights on the platform went out.

"What the hell _was _that?" Rodney exclaimed.

John ignored him. "Teyla are you okay?" He asked, looking across at her. She stood up, nodding. "I am fine," she replied. "Are you?"

He nodded. "Whatever it was, it didn't hurt," he said. "Maybe we should get out of here."

He had only taken one step when he heard a noise from the back of the platform. He quickly pointed his P-90 in that direction. Teyla and Ronon followed suit.

"What is it, Colonel?" Teyla asked.

"Didn't you hear that?" He said, staring at the diamond glass. It was no longer lit up, and he could see that it was a frosted white colour. But some parts of it seemed darker than others.

The noise came again. He lowered his gun slightly, frowning. Teyla said what he was thinking. "It sounds like a… child."

It had sounded distinctly like a whimper. But how could there be a child in this room?

Suddenly, the whimpering started again, and there was no mistaking the sound. It was a baby crying.

Teyla was on the platform before John could stop her. Nothing happened though, and he quickly followed her. The baby was still crying, and it was clear that the noise was coming from the block at the back of the platform.

Teyla got there before John did and crouched down in front of it. He saw that the dark areas on the glass were moving and he realised that the baby was behind the glass.

Teyla was trying to pry the glass out of its frame but the edges were very smooth.

"Are you sure we should be opening that?" Rodney asked from behind them. He and Ronon had climbed onto the platform behind them. John was inclined to agree with Rodney, but Teyla glared at him.

"It's a baby, Rodney," she said. "We can't just leave it in there."

"It's survived for ten thousand years," Rodney said. "A few minutes won't hurt it."

Teyla's glare deepened and she went back to trying to open the glass. The baby was still crying.

John sat back on heels, trying to decide what to do. Obviously this baby had been frozen or something and that light that had surrounded him and Teyla had woken it up. It _was_ only a baby – he could see its silhouette through the glass. They had no way of knowing, now that the freezing… thing… was switched off, how much oxygen the baby had or anything.

They couldn't leave it in there.

John took out his pen knife and flipped it open. He wedged it in between the glass and the stone, but as soon as he placed his other hand on the block to get some leverage a crack appeared down the middle of the glass and it slid open.

It was a baby girl, lying naked inside the block, her little face screwed up tight as she cried. She had dark olive skin and a mop of black hair, and was only a couple of months old at the most.

Teyla reacted first. Making calming noises, she placed her hand on the baby's chest. It kept crying.

"We have to take her to the infirmary," she said, looking at John.

He nodded, and quickly unclipped his P-90 from his vest so that he could remove it. He took off his jacket and handed it to Teyla, who placed it round the baby as she carefully lifted her out of the block.

John pressed the activation button on his radio. "Sheppard to Carter."

"_Carter here. Found anything interesting, John?"_

"Yes, actually. We found a baby."

"_What?"_

"She seems to have been in some kind of stasis. We think the room sensed my gene and used me to wake her up."

"_And she's alive?"_

"Can't you hear her?"

"_No."_

It was only then that John realised the baby had stopped crying. He looked round and saw that she was still awake but now staring up at Teyla as she held her close against her chest, wrapped in John's jacket. Teyla was smiling down at her with what John thought was a very maternal smile.

"_John?"_

"Yes, she's alive. We're going to take her to the infirmary."

"_I'll alert Dr Kellar and meet you there. Carter out."_

John nodded to the door of the lab. "Come on, let's go to the infirmary," he said.

"Maybe I should stay here and see if I can find anything out about this thing," Rodney said as John and Teyla stood up.

John nodded. "Yeah, okay, Ronon stay with him," he said.

Ronon nodded. John picked up his vest and P-90, gestured to Teyla and the two – well, three – of them started to walk across the platform.

"McKay to Zelenka…"

John let Teyla go down the steps in front of him and then followed her out of the lab.

_More to come soon - any feedback is appreciated._


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – I only own the plot of this story.

_Thank you to my reviewers – I hope you enjoy this next instalment. More to come soon. _

SPOILERS for ep 3x20 First Strike.

Chapter Two

The transporter was three corridors away. They walked slowly – Teyla because she was busy rocking the baby gently and John because he had to watch the floor in front of Teyla to make sure she didn't trip over a piece of debris because she wasn't paying attention. Several times he had to tug on her sleeve to steer her round something.

Teyla trusted John to guide her and kept her eyes on the baby. She was getting sleepy. Teyla kept rocking her, holding her close. She couldn't imagine how this baby had come to be put in stasis or who had put her there, and she only hoped that there were no ill side-effects from her long sleep. She would have no memory of those she had lost – Teyla hoped that this was a good thing.

"Is she okay?" John asked as they reached the transporter. Teyla finally looked up. "I think so," she said. "She's falling asleep."

They fell quiet again as they stepped out of the transporter by the infirmary. Teyla didn't notice the surprised looks they were getting from everyone they passed on their way to the infirmary, but John did. He and Teyla were walking through the corridors of Atlantis, and they had a baby with them. God knows what everyone was thinking.

John knew Teyla liked children, but she seemed particularly taken with this little girl – she barely took her eyes off of her. He guessed that she felt sorry for her – hell, so did he. But still, he hoped she didn't become too attached. He didn't know what was going to happen to this baby or even if she was okay after being in that stasis chamber for so long.

Sam Carter was waiting for them just inside the infirmary.

Sam had been in Atlantis for just over a month, standing in as leader for Elizabeth while she was recovering on Earth. John had found himself in charge of Atlantis in one their most crucial moments, but to him the hardest challenge had come once the crisis was over. Within two days John's respect for Elizabeth had shot up. The day-to-day running of the city was an absolute nightmare – a nightmare that by the end of two months he just couldn't deal with anymore. Luckily, the SGC took pity on him and sent him a lifeline – Colonel Carter.

John had been hugely surprised that Sam had agreed to come to Atlantis. He knew her sense of duty was strong and that her scientific curiosity was piqued by Atlantis, but she had just got married.

Sam and General O'Neill had finally managed to get their act together and tied the knot, much to the relief of everyone who had ever worked with the pair. Except for maybe McKay, but he'd soon got over it. Mostly.

Anyway, three weeks later and four months after she had got married, Sam arrived on the Daedalus and John had gladly handed over the reins. Elizabeth would be returning though within the next couple of months, which was a very good thing. Sam was doing a great job, but she needed to get back to Earth soon.

Sam stood up as they entered. "How is she?" She asked.

"Asleep," Teyla replied, as Sam bent over the bundle in her arms to have a look. Sam shook her head. "The poor thing," she said. "It's amazing that she's survived – I wonder who put her in there…" Sam's hand rested on her expanding stomach – Teyla had noticed her doing this a lot, mostly subconsciously. She smiled slightly – it was the same with all pregnant women.

Dr Kellar appeared in the doorway of one of the private rooms. "Teyla, could you bring her through?" She asked. Teyla, John and Sam followed her in.

Dr Kellar had brought out some blankets and laid them on the bed. Teyla placed the baby on the blankets. As she did so the baby stirred but didn't wake up. Teyla carefully arranged blankets around her and then stood back. Dr Kellar stepped up and looked at her closely. "So, tell me how you found her," she said, carefully placing her stethoscope on the baby's chest.

As John launched into the story of what happened in the lab, Teyla watched Dr Kellar examine the baby. She was very gentle with her, but still Teyla flinched at some points. She knew that she wasn't hurting her, but still felt oddly responsible for the little girl. After all, she had no one else to look after her.

Near the end of the exam she woke up and started to cry again. Teyla picked her up again to quiet her, and held her still while Dr Kellar took some of her blood.

John tried to leave the infirmary but he was quickly prevented by Dr Kellar, who needed to examine both he and Teyla to make sure there had been no side-effects from the device. Teyla had a feeling that he had been expecting this and that was why he wanted to escape. She didn't blame him, as the examination was very thorough and included a full blood work. Teyla felt like escaping as well.

The baby was still crying. Teyla was worried about her but Dr Kellar didn't seem to be. "She's hungry," she told Teyla as she rocked her. "We're heating up some milk for her and Lieutenant Owens is trying to make a baby bottle so we can feed her."

Lieutenant Owens appeared soon after with a large phial of milk. At the top she had fastened a large pipette using the tape used to fasten bandages. The lieutenant passed the 'bottle' to Teyla, who stared at it in confusion.

"Er…"

John appeared next to her. "Here, you have to tip it up –" He took hold of the bottle and held it up to the baby's lips. She started to drink, and he held it so the milk kept running down. "Got it?"

Teyla nodded and took the bottle from him. "Thank you," she said. "Have you done this before?"

"My best friend in high school had a baby brother," John said. "We had to baby-sit all the time. Besides, baby bottles are used by loads of people on Earth."

"We had nothing like this on Athos," Teyla said, looking back down at the baby in her arms. She was still drinking – the milk in the bottle was half gone.

"Ten thousand years obviously left her pretty hungry," said John. Teyla looked up at him, but he was watching the baby. Teyla smiled – it seemed she was not the only person to be intrigued by the little girl.

The baby went back to sleep after she had eaten, and Teyla and John stayed sat next to her bed watching her. Eventually, John stood up.

"I should probably go back down to the lab, and see if McKay's found anything," he said. Teyla nodded. "Of course," she said. "I'm going to stay here."

John nodded back and turned to leave, but stopped when he saw Dr Kellar entering. She held a clipboard in her hand and looked… shaken.

"I was going to go back down to the lab," John told her. Dr Kellar glanced at the baby. "Colonel, I have some results I think you should hear," she said.

John frowned slightly but sat back down. "Okay doc," he said. "Let's hear it."

"Well," Dr Kellar began. Teyla raised an eyebrow – the doctor appeared to be at a loss for words.

"Well," she began again. "She's perfectly healthy, despite her… situation."

Teyla smiled and looked at John again. He nodded.

"The thing is – I don't think she was in stasis."

Teyla's attention flew back to Dr Kellar. "Why not?" She asked.

Dr Kellar propped herself up against the desk before answering. "She's not an Ancient," she said. "She's just as advanced – or unadvanced – as we are."

"That doesn't mean she wasn't in stasis," John said. Teyla nodded. "There were humans in the galaxy apart from the Ancestors," she added.

Dr Kellar nodded. "I know," she said. "That was my original thought as well. But I noticed that she does have the Ancient gene, so I ran some more tests. I had a hunch, after what you'd told me about the device you found her in and what happened to you and…"

"And…?" John interrupted.

Dr Kellar took a deep breath and visibly composed herself. "I don't think the device used you to wake her up," she said. "I think it used you to create her."

Teyla frowned again. "I don't understand," she said.

"I ran an analysis of her DNA against yours," she said, looking at both of them in turn. "Genetically speaking, this baby is your daughter."

Silence.

"_What?_"

"How is that possible?"

"I have no idea how – all I know is that she is your daughter," Dr Kellar repeated. "Somehow the device took DNA from both of you and she is the result."

John sprang to his feet and activated his radio. "Sheppard to McKay. Come in _now_."

Teyla's mind was reeling. She knew her mouth was hanging open but couldn't seem to stop. Dr Kellar gave her a weak smile.

"McKay what have you found out? Is it a stasis chamber? Are you sure? Dr Kellar thinks that… yeah that's what she said. Shut _up_ McKay, this is not funny!"

Teyla got to her feet and walked over to the bed that the baby lay on. She was asleep again. Her tiny eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. Teyla remembered when she had been about fourteen, her aunt had given birth to a girl and everyone had said how much she looked like Teyla as a baby. Teyla couldn't help but notice, now she thought of it, how much this little baby looked like her young cousin had done. Except for her hair, which had been a light brown. This baby's hair was jet-black, like John's. _Like her father. _

Dr Kellar cleared her throat. "I'm going to go and speak to Colonel Carter," she said. "I'll be back in a moment."

She turned to leave, but paused in the doorway. "By the way, as far as we can tell the device had no side-effects on the two of you whatsoever," she said. She left.

"I'd call the baby a side-effect, wouldn't you?" John called after her.

Teyla watched John closely – he did not seem to be taking the news well. He started pacing up and down the length of the room, his expression dark. She didn't know what to say to him.

Teyla herself was surprised at how well she was taking the news that the baby was her daughter. She guessed that in a way she was glad because it meant that the baby hadn't been left in that device for thousands of years. But maybe she should be panicking. Who knew how this would change her life. Where would the baby stay? What were her people going to say? What would they tell her when she was old enough to understand?

What was this going to mean for her and John?

The two of them had been friends since the moment they had met, but Teyla had often felt there was something more there. However, she wasn't one to make the first move, and she knew that he wasn't going to either. Everything remained unsaid between them. What were they going to do now that they had a child together?

John stopped pacing and turned to face her. "This is _insane_," he said.

"It's certainly unexpected," Teyla said diplomatically.

"What were they _thinking_? Why would you build a machine that makes a baby? And not put up any warning signs?"

Teyla ducked her head to look at the baby again. She stirred slightly in her sleep, her tiny hands clenching into fists before she relaxed again. He was right – what had they built that machine for? But she couldn't bring herself to get so annoyed about it. It wasn't exactly the worst thing that had happened to them on Atlantis.

John stopped next to the bed, opposite Teyla, and looked down at the baby. Their baby.

He shook his head. "I'm so not ready to be a father."

Teyla wanted to tell him he was wrong, that he would be a fantastic father. She knew how good he was with children – his easy manner with Jinto and the other Athosian children had been one of the things that had caused her to trust him so readily when they first met. But she knew he wouldn't believe her.

She smiled at him instead. "We'll learn."

_Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer – I own nothing but the plot of this story.

SPOILERS – For episode 1x8 'Home'

Chapter Three

"So… this is certainly interesting," said Sam.

She, Dr Kellar and SGA-1 were seated in the briefing-room. It was an hour after Dr Kellar had dropped her bombshell, and Rodney and Ronon had just come up from the lab. Both looked highly amused. John kept glaring at them, but this just made them smile more.

"Rodney, did you figure out the device?" Sam asked.

Rodney leaned back in his chair. "That's going to take a while longer," he said. "We did find a console, and Dr Josephs is translating it, but there's lots of information there."

"Any idea how it works?"

"Any warning signs?" John asked bitterly. He was _not _in a good mood. All he had done was step onto a platform, and then suddenly – bang! He's a father. And more than that; _Teyla _was the mother. The mother of his baby. He was still having trouble getting his head round it.

Rodney smirked. "No, the Ancients don't seem to have been big on warning signs," he said. "I've got Zelenka running some tests, we should have some answers in a few hours."

"And she's healthy?" Sam asked Dr Kellar. She nodded. "Absolutely," she said. "She's fine. She's bigger than a newborn – if I had to age her I'd say six or seven weeks. I guess the device is programmed to create babies slightly older because newborns are so much more fragile."

"She's sleeping now," Teyla added.

Sam grinned. "And to think I'm doing this the old-fashioned way," she said, her hand on her stomach.

Teyla laughed and even John managed a smile, though his mind was still racing. So, he and Teyla now had a baby. Things were going to change – they would be spending a lot more time together for a start. How was that a bad thing? John decided that the reason he felt so unnerved was because he was nervous. He hadn't been lying earlier – he really didn't feel ready to be a father. Or a… well, whatever this made him to Teyla.

Jeez this really complicated things.

"It does take the fun out of becoming a parent," Ronon said in an apparently innocent voice. His smirk gave him away.

"Yeah, Sheppard, I'd ask for my money back," Rodney added. He and Ronon started laughing.

John glared at them, lamenting the fact they were sat on the other side of the room and out of reach of his booted foot. He could just imagine them laughing it up down in the lab as well. They were enjoying this way too much, and he told them so.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Oh come John, give us a break! This is a big day for us," he said. "It's not everyday you become an uncle." He and Ronon started laughing again.

John grabbed a piece of paper from in front of Sam and balled it up to throw at them. Teyla pulled it off of him before he could, and Sam looked at him like he was a misbehaving five-year-old. He gave her his best petulant look and sat back with his arms folded sulkily across his chest.

"Knock it off you guys," Sam told Rodney and Ronon, who obediently sobered slightly.

"So," she said. "Regardless of how she got here, we now have a baby in the city. What now?"

There was a moment's silence. They had come to the part of the conversation that had been occupying John's mind – what now?

"Well," Teyla started. All eyes turned to her. She looked embarrassed.

"Well," she started again. "I know that she was created by a machine and apart from having some of my DNA she isn't really – "

Sam smiled. "Teyla, it's only natural that you feel close to her," she said. "No matter how she was made, she's your daughter."

Teyla nodded. "I want to raise her," she said. "I don't want her sent away." She looked at John, but he looked away without saying anything. He wasn't surprised by what she said – of course she'd want to raise the baby. But he didn't know… how was this going to work?

Sam sat forward. "Here's what I think," she said. "Lots of people who work at the SGC have children. But the SGC is very different to Atlantis – it's just a base. A place you come to to work and then go home again at the end of the day to your family. But Atlantis _is _home. Atlantis is a city, not just a base, and cities have children in them. So I think keeping her here shouldn't be a problem."

Teyla smiled brightly. John thought Sam had a point – having a kid around the city again would be good, and it hadn't been a problem when the Athosians had been living with them. But how would they juggle it with their duties on SGA-1?

"I don't think – " Rodney began.

"We'll figure it out, Rodney," Sam said, frowning at him. John could see that Sam was really pulling for Teyla – probably empathising as a fellow mother.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "I know," he said. "I was going to say that I don't think you'll have any trouble finding babysitters. Not me – I don't do babies. But there are people here that like them."

John rolled his eyes. Rodney would always be Rodney, even if he was going to start calling himself 'Uncle Rodney'. But he had a point. Most of the Atlantis personnel would love having a baby around. Maybe it would work after all.

"This isn't going to work."

Everyone turned to look at Dr Kellar. She leaned forward, looking serious. "We're not equipped to deal with a baby," she said.

"What do you mean 'not equipped'?" Asked Sam.

"We don't have anything we need," Dr Kellar answered. "We don't have a cot – at the moment she's lying on a bed in the infirmary. We don't have any baby bottles, or formula to feed her with. _I _try to avoid drinking that stuff they call milk, I felt guilty feeding it to the poor thing. We need formula, and clothes, and _diapers_. We don't have what we need to look after a baby. And the Daedalus won't be here for a month."

"Athosians manage to raise their children without all those things," Teyla said reasonably.

Dr Kellar sighed. "I know," she said. "But the fact is that Teyla isn't lactating, and that causes nutritional problems as well."

John, Rodney and Ronon all shifted uncomfortably. The women rolled their eyes at each other.

"What do you propose?" Sam asked.

Dr Kellar paused. "I think we need to send her to Earth."

Teyla opened her mouth to protest, but Dr Kellar ploughed on. "Not for long – she can come back on the Daedalus so it will only be a month. On Earth she'll be able to be properly looked after, not to mention we'll be able to have all the things we'll need brought here on the Daedalus when she comes back."

There was a short silence as everyone thought this plan over.

"Will I… may I go with her?" Teyla asked eventually, her eyes on the table in front of her.

Everyone stared at Teyla. She looked up at Sam, her chin raised in what John recognised as her determined face.

Sam blinked. "To Earth?" She asked.

Teyla looked uncomfortable but resolute. "I just… I'd rather she didn't spend the first month of her life amongst people she may never see again," she said.

Sam smiled. "I'm sure it'll be okay for you to go," she said.

"I'll go too," said John. John blinked as his ears heard what he'd just said. Where the hell had that come from? Still… now that he'd – or his subconscious – had said it, it made sense. He couldn't let Teyla go to Earth by herself.

"John, you don't have to," Teyla said.

"Yes I do," John said. He gave her a lopsided smile. "She's my daughter too, right? Besides, I did promise to show you round Earth. For real."

Teyla smiled. "Thank you," she said.

John smiled back and turned back to Sam. "That's okay, right?" He asked. Sam nodded. "Sure – you're owed a holiday by now," she said. "Besides, you two need some time to get used to being parents." She smiled and stood up. "I'll go and tell the SGC to expect company. You two had better pack."

XXXXXXX

An hour later John and Teyla were ready to go. They were both travelling light, with only a duffel bag each. John had left many of his civilian clothes on Earth and Teyla was anticipating shopping again. They stood in the gate room, John holding their bags, Teyla holding their baby. She was still asleep, and wrapped in blankets.

Dr Kellar handed John a clipboard with all of the baby's medical readouts on it to give to Dr Lam. She smiled at them both and stepped back.

Rodney and Ronon stood in front of them. "Well, have fun on Earth," Rodney said. He handed a piece of paper to John. "Here's a list of all the things you can get for me while you're there."

"Wow, thanks," John said sarcastically.

"Yeah, enjoy it – it's definitely something," Ronon told Teyla.

Teyla smiled at them both. "Take care," she said. "We will bring back popcorn."

"Keep working on that machine," John said. "I want to know if we have to expect weird things to happen."

"Like telekinesis?" Rodney asked, looking doubtfully at the sleeping baby in Teyla's arms.

John glared at Rodney. "You never know."

The wormhole engaged at that moment and light filled the gateroom. Sam called down from the control room. "The IDC has been sent and they're waiting for you," she called. "Take care!" She waved, and John waved back. Teyla bowed her head.

"Well, goodbye," John said, turning back to Rodney and Ronon. "Yeah, see you later," Rodney said. Ronon nodded. John heaved one of the duffel bags onto his shoulder and picked up the other one. He looked at Teyla and nodded to the gate. "Off we go," he said.

Teyla nodded and smiled once more at Rodney and Ronon. "Farewell," she said, and then with one last look at the control room, she followed John through the stargate.

The trip through the event horizon was longer than the usual journeys, but still took only a few seconds. Before too long Teyla was stepping through the event horizon in the SGC.

Her first thought was how accurate the illusion had been, when she and John had apparently come to Earth three years ago. The gateroom of the SGC was exactly as she remembered it. Except that the man waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp was not one she recognised.

"Colonel Sheppard, welcome back," he said, smiling at them.

John started down the ramp to him. "General Landry, it's good to be back," he said. He gestured to Teyla. "This is Teyla Emmagen and… and our daughter."

Teyla followed John down the ramp and stopped in front of the General, who nodded at her. "Miss Emmagen, welcome to Earth," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Teyla smiled. "Thank you General," she said. "It's wonderful to be here."

The General stepped forward to have a closer look at the baby. Teyla pulled the blankets down slightly so that he could see her. His face broke into a wide smile. "She's a beauty alright," he said, stepping back. "How does it feel to be parents?" He asked.

Teyla looked at John, who raised his eyebrows at the General. "Surprising," he said. General Landry chuckled. "I'll bet," he said. "They're expecting you in the infirmary."

"Yes sir," said John. He turned to Teyla, and she smiled at him. "I remember where it is," she said, heading towards the exit on the left.

"How does she remember where it is?" Teyla heard General Landry ask. She heard footsteps behind her as John caught up with her.

"It's a long story, sir," John called over his shoulder.

_Hopefully I'll update tomorrow, but if not I'll be gone 'til the end of the week. Please review and Happy Easter! _


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer – I only own the plot of this story and none of the Stargate franchise.

SPOILERS – 1x8 Home and 3x10 The Return Part One and 3x17 Sunday

_A/N – Thank you to my reviewers; you've all said such nice things! I've been away for the past few days which is why this chapter has taken a little while. It's also an absolute beast of a chapter, so good luck reading it, and enjoy!_

Chapter Four

"We still have to name her."

Teyla looked over at John. They were in the SGC infirmary, seated in a corner as

Dr Lam examined the baby. Even though she had the results of the tests Dr Kellar had run she still had to check her since she was new to Earth. Teyla remembered the test well from the imaginary Earth John had imagined for the two of them. It had taken her a while to forgive him for the size of those needles.

She only hoped he had exaggerated reality, since it was her turn next.

"Do you have a name in mind?" She asked.

John shook his head. "No. Do you?"

Teyla hesitated. "No," she answered, "but there is a tradition in my family of naming girls after… flowers."

John's eyebrows went up. "Really?"

Teyla nodded. "Yes. It must seem strange…"

John shook his head emphatically. "Not at all – lots of women on earth are named after flowers," he said, surprising Teyla. "It's just - is teyla a flower?"

Teyla smiled. "Yes."

John nodded thoughtfully. "Well, naming her after a flower is fine with me," he said.

Teyla thought for a moment, the names of all the flowers she had always liked running through her mind. Somehow none of them seemed right – and it was too… too Athosian. It was _her_ family tradition, and she wanted something of John's culture in their baby's name as well. "Maybe we can name her after a flower from Earth?" She suggested.

John smiled slightly. "Right," he said, leaning back and thinking. "So… Rose?"

Teyla had heard the name, and hadn't realised it was a flower. She didn't like it. "Um…" She said diplomatically.

"Yeah, I don't think so either," John said, smiling wider. "Er… Daisy? Lily?" Teyla shook her head.

"Pansy? Petunia? Bluebell?" Teyla looked at John in alarm. He couldn't possibly like those names – she was relieved to see him grinning widely at her reaction. She mock-glared at him and sat back.

John chuckled. "Heather?" He suggested. Teyla smiled. "That's quite nice," she said.

John nodded. "Er…Lavender? Jasmine?"

Teyla sat up. "Jasmine…" She said thoughtfully, testing out the sound of it.

"You like Jasmine?" John asked.

Teyla turned to him excitedly. "Do you?"

John thought about it. "Yeah… well, I think it suits her," he said, looking at the bed their baby lay on.

Teyla nodded. "So do I," she said, looking in the same direction. She smiled. "Jasmine Sheppard," she said softly.

At first she didn't think John had heard her, but a couple of seconds later he spoke. "Jasmine Emmagen Sheppard," he said.

Teyla swallowed against the sudden onslaught of emotion choking her throat and smiled at John. "Perfect," she said.

John gave her his small lopsided smile just as Dr Lam cleared her throat. They both looked round at her and stood up.

Dr Lam smiled. "She's fine," she said. "Perfectly healthy." Teyla wandered over to the bed and John followed her. The ba – _Jasmine_ – was dressed now. The SGC had been prepared for their arrival, and what Dr Lam had called 'baby essentials' had been waiting for them in the infirmary. Jasmine was now wearing a diaper and a white bodysuit.

"Well, Teyla," Dr Lam said. "Your turn now."

"Have fun," John said as Teyla was led away to the other end of the room. She and Dr Lam disappeared behind a curtain and suddenly John was alone with the baby.

He peered down at Jasmine, who was awake and looking up at him curiously. Her eyes were a dark hazel colour, and her eyelashes seemed impossibly long. Her black hair was sticking up at the front and John reached forward and smoothed it down. He was surprised at how soft her hair was, and he stroked her head again. He moved his hand and saw that she was smiling at him.

John grinned back – he had made her smile! He touched her hand gently, to see if she would do that baby-hand-clamping-your-finger thing. She did.

John cleared his throat. "So, er, Jasmine…" he said. "That's your name by the way. Jasmine. Jasmine Emmagen Sheppard. I'm John Sheppard, but _you _can call me Dad." He shook his finger as if he was shaking her hand.

Jasmine smiled again as if she knew what he had said, and John grinned again.

There was a tap on the door. "Come in," John called out, removing his hand from Jasmine's grip.

The door opened to reveal Daniel Jackson. Vala Mal Doran was right behind him, craning her neck to see over his shoulder into the room.

Jackson smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but Vala beat him to it. "We've come to see the baby," she said. "_Move_, Daniel!"

Daniel rolled his eyes but obediently stepped into the room. Vala ran past him and skidded to a stop next to John. "Hi Sheppard, welcome back," she said, not looking at him.

"How are you Colonel?" Daniel asked. John nodded as he shook his hand. "A little… er…"

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "I'll bet," he said.

"Daniel, look at this little darling!" Vala said, tugging on Daniel's sleeve. He stepped next to her and smiled down at Jasmine. "She's beautiful," he said.

Vala gripped John's arm imploringly. "May I hold her?" She asked. "Please?"

"Er, sure," John said. Vala clapped her hands excitedly and stepped forward. She carefully placed one hand under Jasmine's head and scooped her up with her other arm.

Daniel smiled. "Have you named her yet?" He asked John. John, who watched carefully as Vala made faces at Jasmine, nodded. "Yeah, we just named her Jasmine," he said.

Daniel nodded. "It suits her," he said.

At that moment Jasmine started to squirm in Vala's arms and she grinned. "Uh-oh, I think someone wants her Daddy," she said. And, before John could utter a word in protest, she had deposited Jasmine in his arms.

"Woah – okay…" John muttered as he tried to balance her properly. Despite having been by her side for most of her short life, this was the first time John had actually held Jasmine. When - to his surprise - Jasmine settled comfortably into the crook of his arm and smiled up at him again, he found that he didn't really mind it all that much.

Vala gasped. "Aw… did you see that smile?" She asked. "We've definitely got a Daddy's girl in the making." John grinned and shook is head, keeping his eyes on Jasmine, who was still looking up at him.

There was a flash of light and John looked up to see Cam Mitchell standing a few feet away, holding up a camera. He pressed a button and grinned at the display. "Aw… Sheppard and baby Sheppard – that sure is a Kodak moment."

John grinned wider. "Sheppard and baby _Emmagen _Sheppard," he corrected. "Hey Cam."

Cam grinned and walked over. All of SG-1 had taken him under their wing somewhat during his time at the SGC - since they had met on Atlantis and he was so restless on Earth - but he and Mitchell had become good friends.

Cam grinned as he looked down at Jasmine. "She's beautiful Shep," he said. "I'm guessing she looks like Teyla?" He started to laugh, but John didn't deny it. He was starting to notice how much she _did_ look like Teyla.

Cam lined up the camera to take another picture of Jasmine. John rolled his eyes, but Cam shrugged and took the picture anyway. "Like my Mom says – you can never have too many photos of a baby," he said with a grin.

"So, how does it feel to be a daddy?" Vala asked. John tried to think of a good word. "Overwhelming," he settled on. SG-1 laughed.

"Where's Teal'c?" John asked.

"He and Bra'tac are… somewhere," Cam said. "I was too busy dodging his training staff to pay attention when he told me. He's gonna be gutted when he finds out he missed this."

General Landry walked in at that moment. "Nearly done, Colonel?" He asked.

John nodded. "Yes Sir," he said. "Dr Lam is checking Teyla over now."

"I've just spoken to Colonel Caldwell to appraise him of the situation," Landry said. John smiled, imagining what Cladwell's reaction had been to the news he would have a baby on board on his next trip to Atlantis.

"How did he take it, Sir?" Asked John.

Landry smiled. "He's… a bit shocked, which is understandable, but foresees no problems with having a baby on the Daedalus," he said. "But the Daedalus isn't going to be leaving until the end of the week."

John blinked. "The end of the _week_?" He repeated. "It's due to go in two days' time!"

"Extra repairs and computer updates," Landry said. "Do you have somewhere to stay, or will you be needing accommodation on base?"

"I've got an apartment," John said. "The airforce got it for me when I was assigned here. But I'll need a car. Can I borrow yours Cam?"

Cam glared at him. He was very protective of his 'vintage princess', as he called it.

Landry chuckled. "I'll have one sorted out for you," he said. He glanced at Jasmine, smiled, and swept out of the infirmary.

John went to look at his watch, but luckily remembered that he was holding a baby before he turned his arm over to see the back of his wrist. "What time is it?" He asked instead.

Cam looked at his watch. "Just gone thirteen-hundred," he said. "Why?"

"We need to go shopping," he said. "I'll need things for the apartment – like a crib, and those things you put in outlets…"

Cam snorted. "I don't think she'll be crawling within a week, Shep," he said.

"Whatever," John said. "We'll need a car-seat as well."

John looked down at Jasmine. She was nestled into the crook of his left arm, and at some point he had placed his right hand on her chest. She was starting to drift off to sleep again, one of her fists clenched round his finger.

_Flash_. Cam had obviously sensed another Kodak moment.

John was going to ask to see the photos but at that moment the curtain that Teyla was behind opened and she and Dr Lam emerged.

John smiled. "Well, how's our patient doing?" He asked, remembering this moment from when they had been in his imaginary SGC.

Dr Lam smiled and nodded to Teyla. "We're all done Colonel. She's free to go," she said. John blinked. He was sure that was almost exactly what his imaginary doctor had said. His imagination was _good_.

"I was afraid you had abandoned me." John's eyes snapped back to Teyla. She was grinning mischievously, and obviously remembered their conversation then as well. John smirked.

"Just setting up our ride," he replied.

Teyla grinned wider. "So, where are we going?" She asked.

John shrugged. "We should start by…" He grinned and looked down at Jasmine. "Getting _her _a new outfit."

Teyla laughed. John glanced at SG-1 and saw that they all looked thoroughly confused. "Long story," he told them with a smile. "Anyway, Teyla, this is SG-1. Cam Mitchell, Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran."

Cam grinned and stepped forward to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you finally," he said. "Sheppard never shut up about you while he was here."

John rolled his eyes. Cam Mitchell had a big mouth.

Teyla just smiled. "I am very pleased to meet you, Colonel," she said.

Daniel reached out his hand to shake Teyla's as well. "And you as well, Dr Jackson," Teyla said with a smile.

They shook hands. "Please call me Daniel," he said. "It's great to finally meet you – I've heard a lot about you."

"And I you," Teyla said with a smile.

Vala shook hands with Teyla as well. "Jasmine looks just like you Teyla," Vala said. She winked at Teyla. "Well done, by the way."

Teyla looked confused. John had a horrible feeling he knew what was coming.

Vala smirked as she sidled up next to John. "You're going to be the envy of half the women at the SGC," she said. She winked at John. "Probably half the men as well."

John rolled his eyes and shook his head at Teyla, who was looking highly amused. "Vala likes to joke," he said.

Vala reached up and ruffled John's hair before he could duck away. "John was the pretty-boy of the SGC for those six weeks he was here," she said. "We all shed a tear when he had to leave."

"Vala, leave him alone," Daniel said.

Vala walked back over to Daniel and linked her arm through his. "Don't worry, Daniel, you're still my favourite," she said with a smirk. Daniel pulled what Cam had told John was Daniel's 'Vala face' – a strange cross between a smile, a smirk and a grimace.

John rolled his eyes at Teyla, who was still smiling, but looked thoroughly bemused. Vala could be a bit daunting for those that didn't know her.

Teyla stepped closer to John to have a look at Jasmine, who was now asleep in John's arms. She smiled when she saw the way she was still holding onto his hand.

_Flash! _ John looked up at Cam and shook his head, but he just grinned and examined the picture he had taken. He waved the camera. "I'll email you the pictures," he said.

"We actually do have to go," Daniel said. "We're due to go off-world with SG-6 in half an hour."

Vala groaned loudly and looked imploringly at Cam. He shook his head emphatically. "Hell no," he said before she could speak. "If I have to go, you do too."

Vala rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine…" She said. "In that case… Teyla, it was lovely to meet you, and good to see you again Sheppard, but I have to go and get something to make this trip more bearable. Excuse me!"

Daniel blinked as she removed her arm from his and swept out of the infirmary. "What are you getting?" He called after her. "Vala?" There was no reply. Daniel stood undecided for a moment.

"Uh, I'd better…" He said. John nodded. "See you later Daniel," he said.

Daniel nodded. "Yes, and Teyla it was great to meet you," he said. "Take care." He ran out of the room after Vala.

Cam shook his head. "Dr Sullivan and SG-6 found a temple a month ago," he explained. "He and Daniel have been waiting for a chance to get out there and explore it. We're babysitting."

John grinned. "Have fun," he said sarcastically. Cam glanced at Jasmine. "Yeah, you too," he said. He shook Teyla's hand again. "Teyla, I hope we can all meet up again before you go back to Atlantis," he said. "Shep, good to see you again."

John nodded. "You too Cam," he said. "I'll be in touch."

"It was good to meet you Colonel," Teyla said with a smile. Cam paused in the doorway. "Call me Cam," he said. "Good luck with the kid Teyla. Oh, and the baby too." And with a grin he disappeared.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two hours - two shops – later they reached John's apartment block, armed with diapers, clothes, formula, baby bottles, a changing mat, baby wipes, talc, a crib, a car seat that could also be carried around, blankets, and five different advice books. General Landry had arranged for a car and a driver for them, but John had told Teyla that he would hire a car for the rest of the week for the two of them to use.

Teyla had been a bit overwhelmed by the stores they had gone to, and had been very grateful for her memories of her fake trip to Earth. She had seen what stores could be like already and so was prepared, but still the sheer amount of things that could be bought for a baby was astounding. And John had considered much of it completely necessary for Jasmine. They had bought what he had called the 'essentials', but he planned for them to go shopping again tomorrow.

Teyla was sure they were going to end up with a lot of things they would never use.

John paused with his key in the door. Teyla was carrying Jasmine in her carry-seat, and she looked at him questioningly. "Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Er, I just remembered that the last time I was here was after we'd got back from Scotland for Carson's funeral," John said. "There were five of us here and a lot of beer."

Teyla frowned. "So?"

John turned the key and began to open the door. "I just want to prepare you for the mess."

He was right about the amount of beer. There were empty bottles on every available surface, several pieces of cardboard that Teyla recognised as pizza boxes (she had been watching Friends with some of the girls after poker night) and the smell of stale alcohol filled the room.

John immediately crossed the room and opened a couple of windows. Teyla closed the door behind her and looked around more closely. Discarding the mess, it was actually quite a nice apartment. The room they stood in had two sofas, an armchair, a desk and chair, and a low table. A larger table was in between the two windows John had just opened, and had four chairs around it. A smallish kitchen was accessible through an archway and a small corridor led to the bedrooms and bathroom.

John cleared his throat. "We all passed out on the sofas and were woken up by the driver in the morning who was taking us to meet the Daedalus," he said. "I'll tidy up."

Teyla smiled. "It's a nice apartment," she said. John shrugged. "The SGC stuck me in here when I got back," he said. "I didn't do much to it. Just bought a couple of posters and some plates. I was at the SGC a lot anyway."

Teyla nodded. Jasmine was fast asleep, and she didn't really know what they were going to do now. For some reason she was feeling quite uncomfortable, and didn't know what to say to John. Being in the apartment where they would be staying, just the two of them and their baby, made her feel very strange – like they were a family but not really.

John was obviously feeling uncomfortable too. He shifted silently and then cleared his throat again. "Right, I'll go get the rest of the stuff from the car before Ed gets a parking ticket," he said. Teyla didn't really understand what a parking ticket was but nodded as John left the apartment.

Teyla carefully placed Jasmine's carry-seat on the sofa. She wandered over to the window, which overlooked another road with cars going back and forth – dozens of people going about their everyday lives, not knowing the dangers they were saved from so often. Earth was truly amazing.

Teyla turned away after a few seconds and something else caught her eye. There was a photo frame on the desk – a large one that was split into five sections. Teyla picked it up.

The pictures were all of Atlantis. One photo was of Rodney, Zelenka and Carson, eating in the commissary. Rodney and Radek were obviously arguing about something, and Carson was rolling his eyes at the camera. Teyla smiled sadly. The next picture got another sad smile from Teyla. It was of John and Lieutenant Ford. They were sitting on the South pier, their legs dangling over the side over the water. Aiden was mock-saluting

The photo in the middle was of SGA-1. Teyla remembered when it had been taken – one of Radek's team had been off-world with them and taking lots of pictures, and had insisted on a group picture of the four of them. Teyla, Ronon, Rodney and John had eventually agreed, and the shot was of them next to a stream. John had done an impression of Rodney just before the shot, so Teyla and Ronon were laughing and Rodney looked annoyed.

The next picture was in the recreation room, and by the lighting it appeared that the TV was on. It was of Elizabeth, Rodney, Radek and Major Lorne. They were all smiling at the camera.

The last picture was in the commissary again, but Teyla could not tell when it had been taken. It was of her and John. They were sitting next to each other, deep in conversation. John was talking, gesturing with his fork, and Teyla was laughing at whatever he was saying.

Teyla stared at it. She really couldn't remember when it had been taken or by whom, but she felt very… well, embarrassed. She and John had conversations like this one very often, but she had never seen it from another's point of view.

She hoped that no one else had noticed the affection in her eyes. Especially the man in the photo.

_Thanks for making it through the chapter! Please review and let me know what you thought. _


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer – I only own the plot of this story and none of the Stargate franchise.

SPOILERS – 3x20 'First Strike', 1x8 'Home'

_A/N – I'm sorry this has taken a while to post – I struggled with it and am still not at all happy with it. Anyway, the next chapters will be much more fun to write but may have to wait a few days as I have university exams on Tuesday. _

_By the way, something I should have said at the beginning – I'm English, and so say things like lift, jumper, cot, dummy and nappy. I've tried my best to use the American equivalent when appropriate, but if you spot any glaring mistakes please let me know! _

Chapter Five

"John, why would we possibly need so many clothes?" Teyla asked exasperatedly. They were standing in the aisle of a huge baby accessories superstore, and had already filled one shopping cart with books and toys. A second, on which they had placed the carry-seat that held Jasmine, was rapidly filling with clothes.

John blinked. "She's gonna grow, Teyla," he said. "And I think she'll like these dungarees."

Teyla rolled her eyes. "_You_ like them," she said. "Because they're camouflaged."

John looked at the garment in his hands. Jasmine wouldn't fit into it for almost a year, but he thought it was cute. It was pink and green.

"I don't think she's gonna blend in with anything wearing this," he said.

Teyla folded her arms across her chest. "They are baby army fatigues," she said.

John folded his own arms across his chest and squared up so he was facing her directly. "Are you accusing me of militarising the baby?" He asked. Teyla raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

John tried to stare her down for a couple of seconds but soon gave up. "Fine," he said. "We'll let her decide."

John turned to Jasmine and held the dungarees up in front of her. "What do you think, Jasmine?" He asked her. Jasmine looked up at him and blinked. John drifted the dungarees closer to her hand until she grabbed hold of the trouser leg in her fist.

John looked at Teyla triumphantly. "See," John said. "She likes them."

Teyla laughed. "Fine, fine," she said. John grinned and placed the dungarees in the cart. "But honestly, John," she said. "I think that we have enough clothes now."

John looked doubtful. "I don't know," he said. "I think we need more stuff for when she's four months…"

"John!" Teyla interrupted. "Look how much we have already – do you even know how much this will all cost?"

John turned to face Teyla, looking serious. "Teyla, I got a serious pay rise the last three years, and I've spent about two percent of what I've earned since I've been on… er, away."

He glanced around them to make sure no one was listening. "Before that I was living at McMerdot," he said. "I've had nothing to spend my money on for years. So let me go a little crazy, okay?"

Teyla smiled and didn't argue. John nodded. "Okay," he said. He started pushing the cart with the clothes in it, pausing only to make a face at Jasmine and tickle her under the chin. Teyla grinned as she started to push the other cart after him. John took every opportunity to try and make Jasmine smile, and it was very sweet to watch. After getting over the initial shock of finding himself a father, he had grown very affectionate with her.

Well, after he had built The Crib, that is.

The day before, John had returned to the apartment with the rest of the things they had bought and immediately set about tidying the place up. Teyla took over picking up the empty beer bottles and John had turned his attention to The Crib. Teyla always thought of it as having capital letters now, like a movie. A horror movie.

John had also had some choice names for it before he was done.

Two hours, three hunts for lost screws and four glued-together fingers later, The Crib was built. John had collapsed on the sofa and refused to move. Teyla, who had been struggling not to laugh for the past hour or so, decided not to say anything. She had offered her assistance at one point but the look she had received in return had made it abundantly clear that this battle was between John and The Crib.

Teyla had instead explored the apartment. There were two bedrooms and a large bathroom. The spare bedroom was tidy and practically empty except for the bed and a couple of boxes. She moved all of the baby things they had bought into this room. The other room was not so tidy, but the bed was made. John had obviously been telling the truth when he'd said that he and the others had fallen asleep in the living room after the funeral.

Teyla had opened the windows in the rooms to let some air circulate and then, following John's instructions, had ordered pizzas for them. She had been worried the discomfort they had felt on first entering the apartment would continue, but the battle with The Crib and tidying the apartment had ensured that this was not so. They had gone to bed soon after eating the pizzas – though it was only mid-evening on Earth it was late at night on Atlantis, and they had both felt very tired.

It had been a long day.

The Crib had been moved into the spare room so that Teyla could keep an eye on Jasmine through the night. Jasmine dropped off to sleep quickly but Teyla lay awake for hours. She felt tired, but was unable to sleep – instead she lay on her side, staring at Jasmine as she slept peacefully.

Teyla could hardly believe that she was barely twelve hours old. So much had happened, and already she felt a deep connection with Jasmine that could only be described as maternal. When she looked at Jasmine, she didn't see a baby that they had found in an Ancient device – she saw her daughter. With this thought she had finally drifted off to sleep.

As is always the way, Jasmine decided that five minutes later would be a good time to wake up.

"How about this?"

Teyla snapped back to the present and looked at the outfit John was now holding up. It was exactly the same as an outfit they had already picked out, but blue instead of pink. Teyla felt like hitting her head against one of the shelves they stood next to. Or hitting John with one.

"John – we have enough clothes," she said firmly.

John looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but he closed his mouth and shrugged. "Okay, okay," he said. "Let's just go and pay for all of this."

Teyla noticed he still put the outfit in the shopping cart.

She rolled her eyes and started to follow him towards the check-out. She looked at the back of his head and smiled slightly – his hair was sticking up at the back in a way that she didn't think he'd meant.

After Jasmine had started crying in the middle of the night, she didn't stop for quite a while. John had come skidding into the room as soon as she'd started, and he and Teyla had spent the next hour or so trying to settle her and get her back to sleep. They had changed her diaper, fed her, burped her, walked her up and down the room, sang to her… eventually she had dropped off, which Teyla was very glad about for Jasmine's sake. John had been starting to talk about making her watch late-night TV until she fell asleep.

Teyla had thought this was too drastic.

Anyway, she had eventually dropped off again, and Teyla and John had gone back to their beds, exhausted. It had taken Teyla no time to get to sleep this time.

Jasmine had woken up again three hours later and the same thing had happened again.

John suddenly stopped walking and Teyla almost crashed her cart into him. He turned round to face her. "We need a playpen," he said.

Teyla sighed. "More, John?" She said exasperatedly. "What is a playpen?"

John swung his cart round and started to walk in another direction. "It's like a… square thing that you can put a baby in with all their toys and be sure they're not going to crawl off somewhere," he said. "We'll definitely need one on A – er, where we live."

One playpen and two impulse-buy plush toys later, John and Teyla were at the checkout. The girl behind the till had dropped her jaw when she saw the amount of clothes and toys they had bought, but didn't say anything. Three assistants hurried over to help pack everything into bags and boxes.

"So, what now?" Teyla asked as their purchases were being scanned. "More shopping?"

John smirked at her. "You don't mind shopping when we're buying clothes for you," he said teasingly.

Teyla rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "We did not buy this many clothes," she said.

"You know the washing machines are never free," John said. Teyla shook her head at him, and he smirked even more.

"Anyway," he said. "I was thinking we should just drop this off at the apartment, and then go and visit Elizabeth."

Teyla grinned. "That I would love to do," she said. John smiled and nodded.

"Well, I aim to please."

XXXXX

John and Teyla stepped out of their rented car and stared up at the apartment block in front of them. It was red brick and flowers were in full bloom in window boxes. Somewhere inside was Elizabeth Weir.

John pushed the button to lock the car behind them and they started to walk towards the entrance. They were just waiting for the elevator when Teyla, who was carrying Jasmine's carry-seat, turned to John.

"I forgot the bag," she said. They were carrying round a huge shoulder bag full of diapers, food and all the other things they needed. Sure enough, it was still on the backseat of the car outside.

John started to go back, but Teyla put out a hand to stop him. "I'll go and get it," she said. "Why don't you go up and tell Elizabeth about Jasmine? It might be less of a shock then."

John, who had been worrying that Elizabeth might actually faint when they just walked into her apartment with Jasmine, agreed.

"Okay, I'll meet you up there," he said, handing her the car key. "Number 105."

Teyla headed back outside. John got bored of waiting for the elevator, which was still on the third floor, and started up the steps two at a time. He just hoped Elizabeth was at home – he had specifically asked General Landry not to tell her what had happened so that he and Teyla could surprise her.

Atlantis hadn't heard from Elizabeth in a few weeks. After she was injured she was sent back to Earth to recover, and he knew that she had been in hospital for almost a month, and that she was still having physiotherapy for her back. She had been sending messages via the SGC when they had their weekly check-in – usually in response to a stupid question about duty rotas or bickering scientists that John had asked her.

John reached apartment 105 and knocked. He heard movement inside as someone approached the door. He waved at the peephole at the moment he thought Elizabeth would be looking at him and gave her his best cheeky grin.

Locks slid back and the door opened to reveal a very shocked-looking Elizabeth Weir.

"John!" She exclaimed.

John smiled. "Hey Elizabeth," he said. He shrugged. "Surprise."

Elizabeth smiled widely. "Definitely – come in," she said. John followed her into the apartment and she closed the door behind him. "How long have you been on Earth?"

"We came back yesterday."

"We?" Asked Elizabeth.

"Teyla's with me – she's just downstairs," John explained.

Elizabeth smiled again and started towards the door. "Well, let's leave the door open for her," she said.

John shook his head. "I don't think you want your neighbours hearing this," he said.

Elizabeth paused and turned back to him, looking concerned. "What's happened?"

John was quick to reassure her. "Nothing bad," he said. "Er, it's a long story really." He put his hands in his pockets, trying to think of the best way to tell her what had happened. He decided to just come out with it.

"Okay, short version – we came across a lab by the North pier, and my gene accidentally activated a device in there."

Elizabeth leaned back against a side table by the door. "Uh-oh," she said.

John nodded. "It took DNA from me and DNA from Teyla and – it sounds so stupid when I say it out loud – it… made a baby," he told her.

Elizabeth blinked at him. "Excuse me?"

John hadn't thought this would be particularly easy to explain. "It made a baby. A human baby girl. Teyla and I now have a daughter."

Elizabeth gaped at him. "Oh my – but how does – what are – is – why would –"

John nodded. "Yeah, 24 hours of that and welcome to my world," he said with a small smile.

Elizabeth shook her head. "This is unbelievable," she said.

"I know."

"You have a baby."

"Yeah."

"Is she…" Elizabeth paused, trying to think of the word she wanted. "Normal?"

John chuckled. "Yeah, she is," he said. "She's a normal human baby. She's about six weeks old. She has the ATA gene but apart from that… she's just a kid."

Elizabeth ran a hand through her hair and shook her head as if to clear it. "Is she with you?" She asked.

John nodded. "Yeah, Teyla's bringing her up," he said. "We left the bag in the car – babies come with a lot of stuff."

Elizabeth shook her head again. "Why are you on Earth?"

"Shopping," John replied. "Seriously – there's loads of baby stuff we need and there's none of it in Atlantis."

"That's true."

"We're heading back on the Daedalus at the end of the week, along with about 5,000 diapers and 500 sets of baby clothes," John said, just as there was a knock on the door.

Elizabeth stood up eagerly and opened the door. Teyla stood in the corridor, Jasmine in the carry-seat in her arms and the bag over one shoulder. She smiled widely when she saw Elizabeth, who smiled back at her.

"Teyla, hi, come in," she said, stepping aside to give her room.

"Hello Elizabeth," she said, stepping in. She looked around quickly and placed Jasmine's chair on the sofa. Elizabeth went and stood next to her to have a look. Jasmine was asleep, but was stirring as if she was going to wake up soon.

Elizabeth smiled. "Oh, she's beautiful," she said. "Teyla she looks just like you."

"Lucky, huh?" John quipped.

Both women looked over their shoulders and smiled at him. "She has your hair, John," Elizabeth said.

John grinned. "I know."

Elizabeth smirked at Teyla. "Though perhaps with a bit less mousse…"

"Hey!" John said indignantly.

Teyla and Elizabeth laughed, and Teyla put the bag she was carrying on the floor next to the sofa. "How are you Elizabeth?" She asked, hugging her. "It is so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too," Elizabeth replied. She gestured to Teyla and John to sit. John flopped down into an armchair and Teyla settled on the sofa between Jasmine and Elizabeth.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I'm getting there – mentally I feel absolutely fine, so it's quite frustrating," she said. "I get fatigued if I go out for more than half an hour, and my back is still giving me trouble."

John nodded. "Are you keeping busy?" He asked.

"Trying to," Elizabeth said. "I've been going through Atlantis mission reports with General O'Neill and the IOA, and recently I've been advising the president – you know, now that I actually know what's happening on this planet again."

"When are you coming back?" Asked John.

Elizabeth smiled. "Well, probably not the end of this week," she said. "But maybe on the next trip of the Daedalus."

"Why not this week?" Teyla asked.

"Yeah, why not?" John chimed in.

Elizabeth looked from one eager face to the other and chuckled. "Surely Colonel Carter isn't doing that bad a job?" She asked.

"Sam's doing a great job," John said. "But she can't stay in Atlantis for much longer."

"And we miss you, Elizabeth," said Teyla.

"We do," agreed John. "Everybody does."

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "I miss you guys too," she said. "I miss everyone. I miss the city. You know that I'll go back as soon as I can." John and Teyla didn't look convinced.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I actually have an appointment with my physiotherapist in an hour – I'll have another word with her," she promised.

Jasmine made a strange yawning noise and squirmed in her seat, but kept on sleeping. Teyla tucked her blanket more securely around her, and Elizabeth leant over her to see. "It's just so unbelievable," she said. "You have a baby!"

Teyla and John smiled ruefully. "I know," John said. "God knows why they have a machine for making babies though."

Elizabeth nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, that was going to be one of my next questions," she said. "I take it it's being examined?"

John nodded. "McKay and Zelenka are having a look," he said. "Hopefully they'll put up a couple of warning signs."

Elizabeth chuckled. "So how old is she, exactly?" She asked.

John and Teyla looked at each other, thinking. "Atlantis is about four hours in front of here, add on the extra three hours…" John said out loud as he thought it through.

"Just over a day," Teyla told Elizabeth. John nodded. "Twenty-seven hours," he confirmed.

"Wow," Elizabeth said. "Does she have a name yet?"

"Jasmine," John and Teyla said simultaneously.

"Jasmine?"

"Jasmine Emmagen Sheppard," John confirmed.

Elizabeth grinned. "I like it," she said. "It… has a nice ring to it. And it suits her."

Teyla smiled. "Yes, we think it does as well," she said.

"So when does the Daedalus leave?" Elizabeth asked.

"Friday," answered John.

"What are you up to until then?"

Teyla looked at John, and he shrugged at her, smiling. "Shopping for baby things," he said. "And showing Teyla and Jasmine what delights Earth has to offer, I suppose."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Well, if you want me to babysit at any time, just let me know," she said.

John and Teyla both shook their heads. "That's okay Elizabeth," John said.

"We would never impose on you like that," Teyla added.

Elizabeth sat up straight. "You wouldn't be imposing, honestly," she said. "I haven't babysat in a while but before I went to Atlantis I used to have friends, and they had babies." She grinned. "Really, I wouldn't mind at all."

"Well, thanks, but I don't think there'll be any time we'll need a babysitter," John said.

"You never know," Elizabeth said. "The offer's there, anyway."

"Thank you, Elizabeth," said Teyla.

Elizabeth smiled at her. "Well, there's a lot of Earth to see," she said. "And I'm sure John has some ideas – what did you do when we just thought we were on Earth?"

"Clothes shopping," John answered, looking at Teyla. "For hours." Teyla stared back at him defiantly, a small smirk on her face.

Elizabeth laughed. "It was in _your _head, John," she said. "And of all the things you could have shown Teyla on Earth, you took her _clothes shopping_?"

She and Teyla laughed again.

"Hey!" John protested. "She didn't have any civilian clothes back then and she would have got some pretty funny looks walking around in her Athosian clothes. So I took her to get a new outfit. It's not my fault that she spent hours picking one out!"

Elizabeth shook her head. "But the entity actually said that you exhibited an ability to control your environment," she said.

John folded his arms defensively. "Yeah, well, that just proves how strong the female psyche is when it comes to shopping," he said.

Elizabeth and Teyla laughed again.

"I really have missed you two," Elizabeth said with a grin. "But I have to go…"

"To your appointment?" Teyla asked, standing up. Elizabeth nodded and followed suit.

"How about we all go out for dinner tonight?" John asked. "Going to a restaurant is something Teyla should experience."

Elizabeth smiled and nodded. "That would be lovely," she said. She picked up a pen and scribbled a number on the back of an envelope. She handed it to John. "Here's my cell number," she said. "Just give me a call in a couple of hours to let me know where and when."

John nodded and pocketed the number. "Will do," he said.

Teyla opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment Jasmine decided to add her thoughts to the conversation.

Teyla spun round and crouched down next to Jasmine's seat. She placed her hand on her chest and made soothing noises. John quickly crossed the room to stand next to the sofa, just as Teyla unbuckled the belt holding Jasmine in her seat and scooped her up.

She held her close and swayed, which seemed to calm Jasmine slightly. "Is she okay?" John asked.

Teyla nodded. "I think she just didn't like waking up in a strange place," she said. She rocked Jasmine again and went to put her back in her seat but as soon as she did so Jasmine started crying again. Teyla hurriedly held her close, and the crying stopped.

John smirked. "Maybe she just wanted her Mommy," he teased her. Teyla grinned and shrugged.

John glanced over at Elizabeth and saw that she was watching them with a strange smile on her face. Like she knew something she wasn't telling them. "What?" He asked.

Elizabeth shrugged. "Nothing," she said. "You two have become parents very quickly, haven't you?"

"About thirty seconds, in fact," John said.

Elizabeth smiled. "That's not what I meant," she said.

"We had better go, and let you get to your appointment," Teyla said. John nodded and picked up the shoulder bag and the empty carry-seat.

"Jasmine, say goodbye to your Auntie Elizabeth," he said, smiling at her. Elizabeth smiled back.

"I'll see you all tonight," she said.

"Can't wait," said John as he opened the apartment door for Teyla.

Teyla nodded to Elizabeth. "Goodbye Elizabeth," she said. "It was wonderful to see you again."

"You too, Teyla," she replied. "And you John. Bye Jasmine."

XXXX

_Please let me know what you think! _


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer – I own none of the Stargate franchise. (

SPOILERS – None I can think of, actually. Hmm…

_A/N - I'm going to be failing my exams because of this story. Hope you all enjoy this relatively short chapter! _

Chapter Six -

"Trust me Teyla."

"_No_, John, I don't want one."

"Yes you do. Just try it."

"I'm full."

"Just a bite. You haven't lived yet."

"That is what you said about chocolate."

"And look how right I was."

"Fine. _Fine._"

"Here you are."

"That is… actually, that is delicious."

"Told you! Take note Jasmine – Daddy is _always_ right."

Teyla threw the rest of the croissant at John, who caught it deftly and finished it in one bite, grinning at her.

It was late morning, and they were sitting outside a small café, having a late breakfast. It was a beautiful day and the sun was strong, but they were under the shade of a large red canopy.

Teyla leaned back in her chair and smiled. "John, do not lie to the baby," she teased him.

John smirked and nodded. "You're right, sorry," he said. He turned to Jasmine and grabbed her hand. She looked up at him. "Jasmine, Daddy is not always right. Only most of the time. Mommy _is_ always right. Now, unless he's talking about technology, Uncle Rodney is _never _right. _Ever._" He looked back at Teyla. "Better?"

Teyla just laughed. Elizabeth had made an observation at dinner the night before that had worried John a great deal – that Jasmine would be a scientific, military and cultural prodigy by the time she was five. With only one child at hand for the best and the brightest of Earth to impart all their knowledge to Jasmine going to get very smart, very quickly.

John had made it his personal mission to prevent his daughter from becoming an egg-head.

"What are we doing today?" Teyla asked after a moment of watching John shake Jasmine's hand and pull faces at her. "More shopping?"

John shrugged. "I'd rather not, if you don't mind," he said.

"Oh, I do not mind _at all_," said Teyla, relieved. There had been too much shopping. They only had four days left on Earth, and she wanted to see more than just the inside of shopping malls.

"Great," John said. "Any ideas?"

"This is your… neighbourhood," Teyla said with a smile. "Though perhaps something outside – it is such a beautiful day."

John nodded. "Hmm, how about a picnic?"

"What is a picnic?"

"Well… you sit outside with food and drinks and music and your friends and just chill out," he said. "There's a really great park a few blocks from here that we could go to."

Teyla thought about it. It did sound relaxing. She smiled and nodded.

John grinned. "Okay, we'll go in a couple of hours," he said. "You want this last croissant?"

"I couldn't…"

XXX

It seemed that a picnic involved a blanket, some sandwiches, and a bottle of something cold to drink. That is what Teyla would have thought from looking around at all the other people in the park taking advantage of the sunshine to have a picnic, anyway.

A John Sheppard picnic was different. Instead of a blanket there was a large sheet and several cushions. There were sandwiches, but there was also chicken, salad, pasta and donuts, and three different kinds of soft drink. He had brought a tiny radio which was playing music low in the background, a deck of cards, various newspapers and magazines and a large umbrella that had been planted in the ground to provide shade for Jasmine, who was sitting in her carry-seat wearing a sunhat several sizes too big for her.

But, Teyla thought as she stretched out under the sun with her head propped up on a cushion, it was definitely something she could get used to.

"I really miss grass in Rio," John said. They had decided to refer to Atlantis as Rio so that if anyone overheard them they wouldn't have to kill them. It had been John's idea.

"I know what you mean," Teyla agreed, skimming her hand over the blades of grass. "Though there is plenty on the mainland."

"I guess we'd better get over there when we get back," John said. "What do you think they're going to say about Jasmine?"

Teyla looked over at Jasmine, whose face was half-hidden by the brim of her hat. Her fist was tight around the ear of a toy bunny they had bought her the day before.

The truth be told, she had not given much thought to what her people would think of Jasmine – she had been too busy getting used to her herself. She thought about it now.

"I believe they will think of her as a gift from the Ancestors," she told John. She looked at him and he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Is that what you think?" He asked.

Teyla smiled slightly. "I would have done, three years ago," she said. "But knowing what I now know of Ancient technology… still, yes, I suppose I do. In a way."

Teyla thought John was still looking at her – she couldn't be sure, because he was wearing reflective sunglasses. She smiled again and looked away.

John was still looking at her. He had had a sudden thought, thinking about the Athosians. Technically, Teyla was still their leader…

He cleared his throat. "Er, just wondering… is Jasmine your heir or whatever you call it?" He asked.

Teyla looked back at him, confused. "My what?"

John shrugged. "Well, you're the Athosian leader. Does that mean Jasmine will be the leader one day?"

A look of something like sadness passed across Teyla's face and she looked away again. John shifted uncomfortably – he hadn't meant to make her feel bad. She looked back a moment later and seemed completely composed.

"Probably not," she said. "To make a good leader, she would have to be raised among them all her life, to know our customs and ways."

"But won't you teach her all the customs?" John asked.

Teyla nodded. "Of course," she said. "But it is not just that. Living on… Rio… she will be separate from them, and they need to know and trust their leader well."

This is what had been worrying John – the thought that maybe Teyla would take Jasmine and go back to the mainland. Who would he be to stop her? He couldn't.

Much as he would want to.

Teyla sighed. "Besides, I am not… I am not really their leader anymore."

John's eyebrows shot up. This he hadn't heard. "What? Since when?"

"It has been gradual," Teyla said. "And even though they still look to me for guidance in many things, in most they must look to themselves as I am now so far away. Most now look to Halling."

John gaped at her. From what she was saying, Halling had usurped her or something!

Teyla smiled at him and shook her head. "John, do not look at me like that," she said. "It is alright – Halling is more than capable. He is doing what must be done – I cannot protect my people and be with them all the time. I made my choice."

John could see she meant what she said, even if it obviously hurt her to think about it. John had the feeling that she was hurt more by the fact that Halling had _had _to take over, rather than the fact that he had.

John frowned. "Does that mean that Jinto is going to be leader, then?"

Teyla smiled. "Probably," she said, chuckling at the look of mingled shock and horror on John's face.

John shook his head. "Well, stranger things have happened, I guess," he said. He looked over at his prime example, who was still holding tightly onto her bunny. They had bought at least fifteen stuffed toys, but Jasmine was completely uninterested in all of them except the bunny.

"We should name the bunny rabbit," John said to Teyla.

Teyla laughed. "What do you want to call it?" She asked.

John shrugged. "I'll think about it," he said with a smile. He opened the container that held the chicken and started to read a newspaper.

About half an hour later, Teyla spoke up. "What are they playing?"

Jon looked up from the sports section of the paper (the only part that still made sense to him) and saw Teyla was watching some guys playing soccer a little way away on the Sunday little league pitch. They looked like soldiers to John – takes one to know one – and considering there was both Cheyenne Mountain and a new training field nearby it was a fair bet.

"Soccer," John told Teyla.

"How do you play?" Teyla had always been pretty interested in Earth sports.

John put down his newspaper. "Basically, you have to kick the ball to each other and try to score by getting the ball into the net at the end of the pitch," he told her. "You can't touch the ball with your hands unless you're the goalkeeper – they're the ones wearing gloves."

Teyla frowned. "Why is it called soccer?" She asked.

John blinked. "What?"

Teyla turned to him. "Well, it seems that most games have names that tell you about them, like baseball or basketball," she said. "Even football, though I have often wondered why it is called that when you do not use your feet very often."

John shrugged. "Well, some people call soccer football."

"Who?" Teyla asked.

"Anyone who isn't American, pretty much," John said with a smile.

"Really?" Teyla looked confused.

John sighed. This would take some explaining. "Football – my football – is technically called _American _football, and soccer is football," he said. "Soccer football isn't that big over here – not like football or basketball or whatever – but everywhere else it's pretty popular."

"Is soccer the football that Dr Williams is often talking about?" Teyla asked. Dr Williams was an eccentric, very loud, English technician.

"Yeah, that would be soccer," John said. "He's a big Manchester United fan. They're a soccer team in England. Soccer's huge over there. They invented it."

Teyla looked at him thoughtfully. "Why did you steal the name?"

John sat back slightly. "What – we didn't_ steal_ the name!" He said indignantly.

"Was soccer invented after football?" Teyla asked calmly.

John shook his head. "No, it was invented way be – we didn't steal the name!" He insisted.

Teyla was still looking thoughtful. "Why not call football something else?" She asked.

John couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Because football is football!" He exclaimed. "You can't just change the name!"

"Why not?" She asked. "You could call it Running Ball. Or Tackling Ball. Or Field Ball."

John was about to start hitting his head against the ground when he noticed that Teyla was trying not to smile. She was teasing him. He glared at her and she started to laugh.

He folded his arms sulkily. "Football's much better than soccer anyway," he said.

Teyla grinned and shrugged. "I think soccer looks fun as well," she said watching the guys playing again. "I am sure Jasmine will like it."

That was it. There were some things you just didn't joke about.

"Not a chance!" He said.

Teyla grinned. "She seems to like it already."

John looked down at Jasmine and saw that she was watching the soccer players from under the brim of her hat. He hurriedly unbuckled her belt and picked her up.

"It's okay, Jasmine," he said. "I'll save you from that boring sport."

Jasmine bounced her bunny rabbit against John's chest. He took that to mean thank you.

Teyla laughed again. "I think we should call the bunny rabbit Soccer," she said.

John glared at her again. "_No_," he said firmly.

Teyla grinned. "I like it," she said. "Soccer the bunny rabbit."

John shook his head wordlessly but knew it was pointless – from that moment on he would think of that bunny as 'Soccer'.

Damn.

It wasn't until almost two hours later, when they had packed up and were on their way back to the car, that John saw the posters. They were stuck on the barriers around the car park. John stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them.

Teyla stopped as well. "What is it?" She asked.

John was silent, reading the poster again and again to make sure. It started tomorrow – he couldn't believe their luck.

"John?"

John turned to face Teyla, a huge grin on his face. "There's a funfair starting tomorrow!" He said excitedly.

Teyla raised her eyebrows. "Oh. What is a carnival?"

John shook his head, still grinning. "A carnival is just about the funnest thing Earth has to offer," he said. "There are rides, and food, and goldfish to win - we _have_ to go."

Teyla smiled. "Alright," she said. "It sounds… interesting."

John's grin faded. "Er… we can't take Jasmine with us," he said sheepishly.

Teyla sighed. "Then I do not think we can go," she said. "I am sorry John."

"We have to go!" John insisted. "Elizabeth can babysit."

Teyla gaped at him. "John, we cannot ask Elizabeth to do that," she said. "We told her we would not!"

"But she said that it would be okay," he said. "And she was fine when she came out with us last night. _Please_ Teyla?"

He sounded positively childish.

"John…"

"Come on Teyla, I haven't been to a carnival in years!" John said pleadingly. "And you'd love it – you've never had cotton candy and…" Dramatic pause. "And there'll be a Ferris wheel."

John could see that he had her. Teyla looked thoughtful. "Really… I must admit I am curious to see just what it is about Ferris wheels that you like so much," she said. "Are you sure there will be one there?"

John grinned triumphantly. "Positive," he said. "It's what carnivals are famous for – Ferris wheels. And corn dogs too, but mostly Ferris wheels."

Teyla paused for a moment, but then nodded. John managed not to punch the air, but it was only because he was hampered down with bags.

"Alright," Teyla said. "If Elizabeth will babysit."

John grinned as they carried on to the car. Roll on tomorrow.

_I hopefully won't be updating again until after Wednesday. I say hopefully because I should have been revising instead of writing this. Oh well…_

_Please review! _


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N – __Oh my god I am so excited about Series 4 – I've been reading episode synopses as they come out and it's looking so good!! _

_By the way, I'm sorry that I took so long to update. First I had exams and then for some reason I just had loads of trouble writing this. __As it is this chapter isn't finished – the next scene (the content of which is entirely obvious from the end of this chapter) was going to be in this chapter as well, but as this was taking me so long to write I decided to just wrap it up and upload it, and then work on the next scene as a new chapter. I hope that makes sense._

_Anywho, enjoy and please review! _

Chapter Seven

Teyla had never seen John so excited. Well, perhaps when Rodney had asked him to shoot him, punch him and push him off balconies when he had been wearing that Ancient device… but that excitement had only lasted an hour or so. John had been acting like a child for most of the day.

He grinned for no apparent reason as they walked towards the park. They had dropped Jasmine off with Elizabeth – who had been delighted to babysit for them – and then driven the car back to John's to walk to the carnival. They had gone shopping again that day, but this time for Teyla as John had declared that women who wear skirts to carnivals are just asking for trouble and her Athosian pants were too out of place.

So, Teyla was wearing a brand new pair of jeans which were surprisingly comfortable, and a new pair of sneakers.

"We'll make a quick stop at Kyle's," John said as they rounded a corner. "We don't want to get there too early. Also, it'll show you what a bar looks like."

"A bar like Cheers?" Teyla asked.

"How do you know about Cheers?" John asked curiously.

Teyla smiled. "Lieutenant Harris has it on DVD," she said. "I've watched the first two seasons."

John chuckled. "I haven't seen Cheers in _ages_," he said. "Anyway, Kyle's is kind of like that, yeah. I went there with Cam a couple of times, and on my own a few. Kyle's a good guy – you'll like him. Only don't tell him about Jasmine, because there's no way to explain her to Kyle without me sounding like a complete tool."

Teyla didn't know what he meant by that, but decided not to ask.

"Also, if he asks anything about Rio, just say it's classified," John added.

Teyla nodded. It was still unbelievable to her that the vast majority of the people on Earth had no idea about the danger they were in every day.

They reached Kyle's – which was actually called 'Kyle's Bar and Pool' – and John held the door open for Teyla. She smiled and entered. The place really did remind her of Cheers – the bar itself was very similar though the room was smaller and there were two pool tables to one side. Teyla looked at them with interest – the one on Atlantis was about quarter the size.

She followed John over to the bar and they slid onto the barstools. John ordered them a couple of beers and then turned to face her. "So, welcome to Kyle's," he said.

Teyla smiled. "I can see why you like it," she said. The bar had a very friendly atmosphere – people were sitting together and laughing, music was playing in the background but not too loudly, and old movie posters lined the walls.

John shrugged. "Yeah, you kind of miss having a place like this in Rio," John said.

"Maybe you could open one," Teyla suggested.

"I don't think Elizabeth would be too happy about us selling drinks to her personnel," John replied. "I'll mention it though."

Their beers were about half drunk when a tall, rather stout man with thick brown hair and twinkling blue eyes appeared behind the bar from a door that led down to the basement. Teyla was facing him and spotted him first, but John didn't see him until he called out his name.

"Sheppard! John Sheppard as I live and breathe!"

John grinned and stood up. "Hey Kyle, how's it going?" He said, shaking the man's hand over the bar.

Kyle grinned back. "You don't call, you don't write…"

John laughed. "Yeah, sorry, I was reassigned," he said.

Kyle nodded. "So Mitch said." He turned to look at Teyla, and his eyes widened.

"It _was_ you!" He said, turning back to John accusingly. John frowned.

"Huh?"

Kyle gestured to the open bar door. "I was outside yesterday, on Grange Avenue, and I saw this car go past, and I thought to myself that was Sheppard, but I thought it couldn't be, because in the passenger seat next to him was a _very _beautiful young lady," – he winked at Teyla – "and a _baby_ in the backseat."

Kyle grinned at Teyla and stretched out a hand. "Hi, I'm Kyle Rosing," he said. Teyla took his hand, but instead of shaking it, he kissed it. She laughed lightly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Kyle," she said. "I am Teyla Emmagen."

Kyle's jaw dropped. "No way! _You're _Teyla?"

Teyla looked at John, and was a little surprised to see that the look on his face was one of… well, dread.

"Sheppard talked about you _all the time _when he was here," Kyle said, squeezing her hand before letting go. Teyla raised her eyebrows.

"Really?"

Kyle nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yeah," he said. "He never shut up about you. _Well then Teyla said this, and then Teyla and I went to here, and then Teyla kicked my arse again… _on and on and on…"

Teyla knew she was blushing, and she ducked her head slightly, glad of the low lighting in the bar and the fact that her skin colour helped to hide her embarrassment.

She glanced at John - he was bright red. This made her smile slightly as she'd never seen him blush before.

Kyle clapped John on the shoulder. "So, you have a baby, huh?" He said. John nodded dumbly, and then cleared his throat, visibly pulling himself together.

"Yeah, Jasmine," he said.

Kyle grinned. "Congratulations! So, that would mean that Teyla was pregnant when you were here, right?" He shook his head with a grin. "I _knew _all that _oh nothing like that Teyla was just my friend _stuff was a load of bull. No wonder you were so down about being back here!"

Teyla really didn't know what to say to that, so she took a gulp of her beer. And then another.

"Not very nice though, to knock your girl up and then leave her behind," Kyle said. He was grinning though, and Teyla could tell he was joking.

"Well actually, I didn't know she was pregnant," John said, sounding perfectly composed. His face was almost back to normal.

Kyle chuckled. "Must have been a bit of a shock then, huh?"

"I'll say."

Teyla smiled. She'd say so too.

"You want another round?" Kyle asked as John drank from his beer.

John shook his head. "No thanks buddy – we're on our way to the carnival," he said. "We just stopped in so I could show Teyla the famous Kyle's."

Kyle grinned. "And show Kyle the famous Teyla." He winked at Teyla again. She downed the rest of her beer in one gulp.

John quickly finished his own beer and stood up. "We'd better go, but I'll try and stop in again before we leave town," he said, shaking Kyle's hand again.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, and bring little Jasmine in as well for her Uncle Kyle to see," he said, his eyes twinkling.

John laughed. "Will do," he said.

Kyle took Teyla's hand in both of his and kissed it again. "It was a real pleasure to meet you, Teyla," he said. Teyla smiled widely.

"The pleasure was all mine, Kyle," she said.

Kyle grinned and looked at John. "You hold on to her, Sheppard," he said. "She's really something."

XXX

John and Teyla were silent as they walked down the road to the park, and John was wishing that he hadn't introduced Teyla to Kyle. He should have known that he would start spouting off. Now he didn't have a clue what to say to her, and the tension between them was pretty bad.

John tried to think of something to say, but couldn't.

As they entered the park, Teyla turned to him. "Did – did you really talk about me a lot?" She asked. John stopped in his tracks and stared at her. Trust Teyla to get straight to the point.

John shifted uncomfortably. "Kyle was… he was exaggerating," he said. "I didn't talk about you _all _the time."

Teyla nodded. "Of course not," she said. "But Colonel Mitchell also said – "

Damn Mitchell.

John shoved his hands into his pockets and resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get out of this conversation.

"Yeah. I did talk about you a lot," he said. Teyla nodded again, and started to walk along the path. John started walking again as well, but felt that he should say something more. He couldn't tell what Teyla was thinking, and he didn't want her thinking that he had been obsessed with her or something. Not that he thought she was thinking that. Was she?

"I wasn't happy about being back, and everyone I spoke to knew it," he said. "I was… well, I was a complete jerk for most of the time. I had Carson at the SGC to talk to, but McKay was miles away in…" –he stopped himself from saying 'Area 51' just in time –"where he was… and Elizabeth shut herself off from everyone, and I felt really…"

John silently cursed his inability to form coherent sentences when talking about anything personal.

"It was like I'd found where I belonged," he said eventually, hating the way it sounded, "and then suddenly it was just taken away from me, and knowing there was nothing I could do… I hated it. So yeah, I did talk about you a lot. To Cam mostly, because we spent a lot of time together. And Kyle, when I was in the bar. Talking about At – Rio - helped me to feel like it wasn't just a dream, like I'd get back there one day."

John rolled his eyes and looked down at his feet, unable to bring himself to look at Teyla. That had sounded so stupid, and it hadn't been what he'd wanted to say.

He kicked a stone and kept walking.

"I missed you too."

John stopped again and looked at Teyla. She was looking straight at him, perfectly serious. He stared at her in silence for a couple of seconds. Really, he shouldn't be surprised that Teyla had seen through his little speech. He was more surprised by her admission. They had never said it, when he'd got back, but it was always understood between them.

John smiled. "Let's go see about this Ferris Wheel, huh?" He said. Teyla smiled back. "Come on."

They started walking again down the path to the carnival.

XXXXX

Teyla was overwhelmed. The lights and the music, the amount of people there, the smell of the food and the noise of the rides were assaulting her from all sides. All awkwardness she had felt before at the bar and during their walk to the park disappeared as she tried to take in everything she was seeing.

John also seemed to have forgotten his discomfort. He grinned widely at her.

"What do you want to do first?" He asked.

Teyla looked at him and laughed. "I have no idea," she said.

John laughed as well. "Okay, let's ease you into the experience by playing some games first," he said. He grabbed her hand and started to weave his way through the crowd.

Teyla allowed herself to be pulled along, and found herself concentrating more on the feel of John's hand around hers than the people bustling around her. She shook her head slightly to try and snap out of it.

John stopped in front of a large, brightly-lit stall. Large stuffed toys hung from the beams framing the front of the stall, and there was a row of five handguns on the counter in front of them.

Teyla looked at John in surprise. "What are these guns for?" She asked.

John grinned and dropped her hand to reach into his jacket pocket for his wallet. "They're dart guns," he said. "The aim is to hit those targets."

Teyla looked at the back of the stall and saw there were five large targets. They looked a little like the targets used in the firing range on Atlantis, but each had five smaller red circles arranged on the circles as well. A man wearing a large straw hat and a wide smile came over to them.

"Two please," John said, handing over the money. The man put the money in a large bag hanging from his hip and pressed two buttons to release two of the guns. John picked his up, and Teyla copied him. The gun looked like nothing she had handled before, and was a lot lighter than any gun she had seen on Atlantis.

John smiled at her. "Go on."

Teyla pointed the gun at the target and squeezed the trigger. She missed.

John laughed and Teyla glared at him. He just smirked in response.

"You have five shots," he said. "You need to hit at least two targets to get a prize."

Teyla turned back and aimed again. She missed.

"This gun is broken," she said firmly, turning back to John. He laughed again.

"A bad workman always blames his tools," John said airily.

Teyla's jaw dropped in indignation. "Well, aren't you going to shoot?" She said.

John smirked and aimed at the target. He missed.

Teyla grinned. "_Well…_" she said.

John straightened his shoulders. "Huh," he said. "Well, it lists to the left. No problem."

He aimed again and this time he got the target. Then another. Then another.

He turned towards Teyla but she turned away before she could see the smug look on his face. She aimed again. She missed.

John was laughing as he took his last shot, so he missed. He didn't seem to mind though, judging by the grin he turned on her. "Three," he said. "And you have…?"

Teyla tried to glare at him but couldn't help a small smile escaping. He was so childish. "I have two shots left," she said, turning back to the target.

She aimed, but before she could shoot John put his hand on his arm. "Don't think of it as an actual gun," he said. Teyla frowned and looked at him.

"Your stance is perfect," he said, "which it would be because I taught you…" – Teyla rolled her eyes – "but it's nothing like a real gun, so you're going to miss."

Teyla lowered her arm and looked at him. "So what do I do?" She asked.

She wasn't prepared for the answer.

John stepped up behind her and, taking her hands in his, raised her arms again so she was aiming at the target. Teyla tensed momentarily and then forced herself to relax, though it was difficult with his arms around her. His body felt very warm behind her and it seemed as though all his heat was rolling into her.

"Remember that it's a toy," John said. His breath tickled her cheek and Teyla had to swallow a gasp. "Don't take it so seriously. Now, look at the shots you've already made. They've all gone to the right of where you've aimed, so this time aim a little to the left of the target."

He guided her hands so that the gun was pointing a little to the left of the middle target. "Okay, now relax," he said.

Easier said than done, Teyla thought, but she forced herself loosen up a little. She shot, and this time she hit the target.

John stepped back, grinning from ear to ear. Teyla grinned too, but she was a little disappointed he'd stepped back so quickly – she had another shot after all.

"Okay, so do it again," he said. Teyla aimed again, and got another target. John whooped and gave her a small round of applause.

The man who ran the stall came over and handed Teyla a small stuffed purple cat. She grinned.

"What colour do you want?" He asked John, pointing to some bigger cats that were suspended above their heads.

John grinned at Teyla. "Lady's choice," he said.

Teyla shook her head. "It is your prize, John," she said.

John grinned again. "Well, yeah, but it's tradition for the guy to give the prize to the girl," he said, winking.

Teyla laughed. "Alright, purple then," she said. "To match this one."

The man got down one of the purple cats and handed it to John, who handed it to Teyla. She smiled and handed him the small cat.

"That's not part of the tradition," John said.

"It is now," Teyla said.

John grinned. "I think I'll call him Meredith," he said.

Teyla laughed. "Alright," she said. "I'll call this one Ronon."

John laughed as well and grabbed her hand to steer her back into the crowd. "Let's go on a ride," he said. "A really fast one. If you think you can handle it, that is."

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I can not?" She asked.

John shrugged, though by his smirk Teyla could tell her was teasing her. "Well, you've never experienced anything like it," he said. "The closest you've come to pulling any Gs is in a car. The jumpers have inertial dampeners and it doesn't even feel like you're moving. This may come as a bit of a shock."

"I am ready," Teyla replied.

"We'll see about that, my young paduan," John said with another grin.

XXXXXXX

Half an hour later John was feeling a little guilty. Maybe they should have started with the carousel and moved up to the _Vortex_ later.

"Are you okay?" He asked Teyla. She was leaning against a lamppost, looking very pale.

"I am fine," she said. "I just… my head is a little light. But I am fine."

"Do you want to sit down?"

Teyla stood up straight and, though she wobbled a bit, shook her head. "No, honestly John, I am fine," she said. She smiled brightly at him.

"What next?" She asked.

John thought for a moment. "Well, we could get some food…"

Teyla grimaced, and John quickly dismissed that idea.

"Are there any more rides you would like to try?" She asked.

Of course there were! But John shook his head. "No, that's enough for me," he said.

Teyla didn't believe him. He could tell. "I don't mind, John," she said. "The only way I'll get used to it is by going on another."

She did have a point. "Well, _Vortex_ is probably the most hardcore ride here," he said. "But are you sure?"

Teyla nodded. "Positive," she said. "Let's try another."

"Well, okay…" John said. "As long as you feel up to it."

"Honestly, I'm fine," Teyla said, linking her arm through John's. "Which ride now?"

John grinned. "Okay, let's just work our way through the carnival to that corner over there," he said, pointing to their left.

Teyla looked, but couldn't see anything other than more people and bright lights.

"Why over there?" She asked.

"Because, Miss Emmagen," he said, grinning again. "That is where the Ferris Wheel is."

_To be continued… please review! _


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N – Well, here are the next two chapters. They were originally one chapter, but when I saw it was almost 6,000 words long I thought I'd better scale it down slightly… :s_

_Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. Please bear in mind that I haven't been on a Ferris Wheel in about six years. Spoilers for Conversion in this one… ;-)_

Chapter Eight

They went on half a dozen other rides and bought some food. Teyla was excited to see that there was popcorn, but he wouldn't let her buy any – instead he insisted on candyfloss, saying that she would thank him for it. Considering how much of it she ate he was right. They also had slices of pizza and fries, and a huge bag of toffee between them.

Finally they got to the Ferris Wheel.

John watched Teyla look up at it and grinned. He was feeling ridiculously excited, though he was managing to keep most of it hidden. Sure he was grinning like an idiot but if he really unleashed his excitement he'd be jumping up and down.

John hadn't been on a Ferris Wheel in nearly ten years. When he'd left Earth for Atlantis he had kept thinking about the things he'd be leaving behind, and for some reason Ferris Wheels had been one of them. He had always liked them, but they had taken on a special meaning for him after he'd told Teyla about them.

At the time it had just been the first thing that came into his head. Now it was _their _thing, and he couldn't wait to see what she thought of it.

"It looks… fun," Teyla said, smiling at him.

John grinned wider and grabbed her hand. "Oh it is," he said. "Come on!"

He pulled her into the queue – which was luckily not too long, and soon they were at the front, waiting to get on.

John paid the man running it and then grabbed Teyla's hand again. "Okay, ready – be quick!"

The wheel paused slightly as two teenage girls scrambled out of the bottom seat, and as soon as they were clear John dove in, pulling Teyla with him. They stashed their stuffed toys in the bottom of the car and John pulled the safety bar down. He grinned at her.

"Here we go…"

They didn't go very far. The Ferris Wheel was still in the letting people on stage, so they were only shunted back a few feet to let the next basket be emptied and refilled. This happened twice more, and then it started to move properly.

Teyla let out an 'oh!' of surprise and John laughed at her reaction. Her eyes widened as they reached the very top of the Wheel and she took in the view. John kept watching her, so glad that she was enjoying it. She started to grin, and John grinned too – her smile was infectious, and in his opinion she used it far too infrequently.

The wheel went round a couple of times and then stopped. They had just gone over the top and started the descent back down, so were quite high up.

Teyla gripped the safety bar. "Why have we stopped?" She asked, looking worried. "Is something wrong?"

John laughed again. "No, they're just letting more people on," he said. "This is how it works – they let on people in groups and take them off in groups, with the wheel spinning in between."

"Oh," Teyla said, relaxing. John noticed she still gripped the safety bar.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, grinning.

Teyla turned to him and smiled back. "I love it," she said. "I can see why you like it so much."

John nodded. "It's the kind of ride where you can just sit back and let the world go by…" he said. Teyla nodded in agreement and looked out over the carnival. They had dipped a couple of times as people got on and off, but they still had quite a good view.

"So many people," Teyla said. "It is astonishing."

John looked out over the carnival and tried to see it the way Teyla would. There were hundreds of people here, and few civilisations in Pegasus got to those kinds of numbers because of constant Wraith attacks. And here they all were wondering between different amusements, not a care in the world, and not knowing what was going on off the planet.

Oh to be one of those people again.

As soon as John thought it, he knew it wasn't true. He didn't want to be one of them again – he had gained so many things after learning about the Stargate, and one of them was sitting right next to him.

The Ferris Wheel started to turn again and Teyla tightened her grip on the safety bar and leaned forward, gazing out at the changing view as they span. John sat back and watched her.

When the wheel stopped again they had been ascending, and John knew that soon they would stop at the very top.

"Okay Teyla, when we get to the top you have to let go," John said, grinning at her.

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "Why?" She asked.

"Because you can't spend the entire ride holding onto the bar for dear life," he replied.

"I can, and I will," Teyla said.

John raised both eyebrows. "Oh really?" He said. "And when we get back and I tell all your people about how you were too afraid to let go on a Ferris Wheel, what do you think they'll say?"

"What is a Ferris Wheel?"

John realised that he'd walked right into that one. They were only one away from the top now.

"You're letting go Teyla," he said, edging closer to her. Teyla inched away.

"No, I'm not," she said. If he'd thought for a moment she was actually scared John would never have contemplated doing what he was about to do, but he could see the amusement in her eyes.

The Wheel shifted and they were at the top.

"Time to let go," he said.

"No," she said.

"Yes!" With that he lunged forwards and seized both her hands in his, and lifted them off the rail. As he suspected, they came away much easier than one would expect.

He raised their hands high above their heads, and Teyla laughed. However, neither of them was prepared for the wheel to suddenly start moving again. The two of them were pitched forwards and their car started to rock. John laughed but Teyla gasped.

John quickly brought their hands down and released his grip, but Teyla kept a firm hold of both his hands and leant against him.

John quirked an eyebrow and smiled but didn't say anything. Teyla was staring straight ahead, waiting for the rocking to stop. It took almost an entire rotation of the wheel, but eventually it did.

Teyla didn't let go of his hands.

Not wanting to spoil the moment but unable to stop himself from saying something, John spoke up.

"You okay?" He asked.

Teyla nodded and turned her head to look at him. John blinked. He hadn't realised she was so close. His left arm was around Teyla's back, holding onto her left hand, and their right hands were entwined on his lap. Teyla was still leaning back into his arm and so when she turned to him their noses were barely an inch apart.

John saw Teyla's eyes widen as well before she answered. "Yes, I am fine," she said. She smiled, and for the first time ever John wished that she hadn't. She was too close to be smiling at him like that.

He was unable to stop himself from smiling back though. "Almost over now," he said.

"That is a shame."

John's smile faded and his heartbeat quickened. He knew she hadn't meant it like that but his treacherous body wasn't listening to him. He stared into her eyes for what felt like an eternity.

He kept expecting Teyla to pull back, but she only seemed to be getting closer. He could make out the curl of each individual eyelash, and the gold specks in her eyes.

He was going to kiss her – he couldn't stop himself – and he could see Teyla knew what was about to happen. And she still wasn't pulling away.

Suddenly the Ferris Wheel stopped, and the jolt brought the outside world back to John and Teyla. Teyla quickly let go of his hands and sat back against the other side of the car, and John slid a little further away.

They didn't look at each other.

John's mind was racing. What the hell had he been doing? He couldn't just go round kissing Teyla! It had been a bad idea the first time – this time it would have been catastrophic!

Their car got to the bottom of the wheel and John pushed up the safety bar. He jumped out – toys in hand – and turned back to help Teyla, but she was already out as well. She wouldn't meet his eye.

That more than anything made John sure that kissing Teyla would have been a mistake. They had both got caught up in the moment, and if anything had happened things would have been even more uncomfortable between them than right now.

John felt immeasurably relieved that they had been interrupted.

They walked in silence for a few yards, away from the queue for the Ferris Wheel. Teyla still wouldn't look at him. And the silence was starting to get to him.

"I'm gonna go and find the toilets," John said suddenly, turning to face Teyla. "Wait here for me, okay?"

He thrust the stuffed toys into her hands and was gone before she could even reply.

Teyla sighed. She didn't blame him for wanting to put some distance between them – in fact she was almost grateful for it. What had almost happened… her heart started to beat very fast again at just the memory of it.

Wanting something to do, Teyla used some of the money John had given her at the beginning of the evening to buy a corndog from a stall nearby. It was absolutely delicious, and she had bought two more by the time John got back.

"So, er… it's almost ten," John said. "We should probably get going – we need to pick up Jasmine. Unless you want to stay?"

Teyla shook her head. "No, we should go," she said. He nodded and started to walk towards the nearest exit – Teyla followed close behind. He didn't hold her hand again to weave them through the crowd.

Teyla bit back another sigh. Was this how it was going to be for the next two days? She didn't think she could bear it.

They walked faster when they got out of the carnival, and the silence seemed to stretch between them. Teyla felt sick at the thought that this was now how things were going to be. Perhaps she should say something – they had managed to move past the incident when John had been infected with the retrovirus, and they had _actually _kissed then, not almost.

But, Teyla reasoned, then they had had an excuse. John had not been himself and she had not kissed him back because she had known this. Tonight had been… they were both perfectly healthy and had certainly both been involved – what would she say that would _relieve _the tension?

By the time they got out of the park Teyla was feeling even more ill, and starting to think that perhaps it wasn't their silence affecting her. She pushed back her nausea and kept walking.

However, as they neared the apartment block, Teyla was finding it impossible to ignore and kept having to take deep breaths to try to stop herself from being sick. John noticed, and stopped.

"Teyla, are you okay?" He asked, sounding concerned. He put his hand on her shoulder. It was the first time he had touched her since the Ferris Wheel, but Teyla was feeling too ill to really notice.

She took one more deep breath and felt slightly better. She thought that it was probably because they had stopped. "I am fine," she said. "I was just feeling a little nauseous."

"You look pale," John said. "Do you want to sit down?"

Teyla shook her head. "No, John – we must get Jasmine," she said. "It is getting late, and it is not fair on Elizabeth." She meant what she said but at the same time shuddered at the thought of getting in the car – she was sure she would be sick if she moved at any speed.

John still looked worried. "Do you think you're going to be sick?" He asked, ignoring her remark about Jasmine.

Teyla studied him for a moment – she recognised the look on his face. It was the look her got before he started giving orders. If he thought she was really ill they would never get to Elizabeth's, and that just wasn't fair on her.

"No, I am fine," she said. "Really, I feel much better now. I think I am still a little dizzy from the rides, that is all."

John frowned slightly but dropped his hand from her shoulder. "Okay," he said, still sounding unsure. "Tell you what – why don't you go up to the apartment and lie down, and I'll go get Jasmine."

Teyla sent a silent prayer of thanks to the Ancestors. "That may be a good idea," she said. John nodded and handed her the door keys.

"Okay, well, I'll be back soon," he said. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Teyla managed not to roll her eyes. Becoming a father had turned John into quite a worrier. "_Yes_," she said firmly. "Go!"

John gave her a small smile and jogged over to the car. Teyla watched him drive away and then let herself into the apartment block. Not wanting to risk the elevator she walked slowly up the stairs, leaning heavily on the handrail and then on the wall in the hallway. She let herself into the apartment and closed the door behind her, making sure it was unlatched for John. She sprinted for the bathroom and made it just in time.

Fifteen minutes later Teyla was curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor, her head leaning against the rim of the bathtub. Her stomach was churning and she knew it was only a matter of time before she was sick again.

She heard the front door open and John enter, the sound of bags being dropped and the door being locked. Teyla tried to stand up but her legs were shaking and movement made the nausea worse, so she stayed where she was. John made his way down the hallway and paused at the doorway opposite the bathroom – Teyla's bedroom.

"I am in here," Teyla called out. Her voice was very croaky, and she winced at the sound of it.

The bathroom door was pushed open to reveal John, who held Jasmine's carrier in one hand. His jaw dropped when he saw her.

"Oh my g– Teyla are you okay?" He asked. He put Jasmine down just outside the door and stepped into the bathroom, crouching down in front of her.

Teyla started to nod but as she did so her entire body seemed to convulse and she was sick again. As she finished she realised John was kneeling next to her, holding back her hair with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. She smiled slightly at him.

"Here, let me get you some water," he said. He stood up and got down a glass from the medicine cabinet, and filled it with water from the sink. Teyla flushed the toilet and took the glass from him with another smile. She took a sip and felt a little better.

"Thank you, John," she said.

John crouched down again. "That's okay," he said. "Jeez, Teyla, I am _so _sorry."

Teyla frowned at him. "For what?" She asked.

"For the carnival, making you go on all those rides – I didn't know it would make you sick…"

Teyla shook her head. "No, I do not think that is it," she said. "They made me dizzy, but not ill."

John frowned. "Then what is – you don't… you don't think that maybe it's a reaction to the Ancient device, do you?" He asked. He now looked even more worried.

Teyla stared at him. "Why would it have taken so long to affect me?" She asked. "And why not you also?"

John shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe I should call the SGC though…"

He started to stand up and Teyla caught his sleeve. "I don't think it is, John," she said. "Perhaps it was something I ate."

John frowned again. "I don't know, I ate everything that you did and I feel fine.."

"I had some corndogs while you were –"

"Corndogs! You ate _corndogs_?" John exclaimed. "Oh god, no wonder you're sick!"

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "I take it corndogs are not good?" She asked.

John snorted. "Hardly ever," he said. "Especially from carnivals. I'm sorry I should have warned you –"

"John, will you stop apologising!" Teyla said, laughing. She was beginning to feel nauseous again. "I am sure that I will be better soon."

John opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment a loud cry was heard from the hallway. Jasmine was awake.

John jumped to his feet but paused in the doorway. "Are you sure you're o-"

Jasmine started to cry harder, and Teyla looked at him pointedly. He got the message and retreated into the hallway.

"Hey sweetie, what's the matter, come on come here…"

Teyla didn't hear anymore as her body convulsed again.

John didn't know what to do with himself. Jasmine was screaming the place down and he had _no _idea what was wrong with her. And Teyla was in the bathroom puking her guts up. He really should have warned her about the corndogs.

John walked Jasmine up and down the kitchen while he heated up some milk for her. Hunger was the only thing he could think of – she didn't need changing or burping. Maybe she was just tired and cranky. Maybe she was worried about her mom.

John was too.

The formula would take another couple of minutes so John hurried back down the hallway and into the bathroom. Teyla was sitting with her legs drawn up to her chest, and was resting her forehead on her knees. She looked up at the sound of Jasmine's crying.

"How are you feeling?" John asked.

"A little better," Teyla replied. Her hair was damp with sweat.

There were flannels in the cupboard by the door. Holding Jasmine tight against his chest with one hand John opened the door and threw a flannel into the sink. He turned on the cold water faucet. When the flannel was wet through he picked it up and squeezed it with his free hand, and handed it to Teyla.

"Here, er, I'll be back in a minute," he said, hurrying back down to the kitchen. The formula was now too hot, and John made calming noises to Jasmine as he held the bottle under the cold water in the sink.

"It's okay, sweetie, it's almost done," he said. "And you'd better be actually hungry, else Daddy's not gonna be impressed.

Jasmine stopped crying for a moment, as though thinking about this. Then she started crying harder than ever

John chuckled. "Okay, okay, point taken," he said. He tested the formula again.

"Alright, Jasmine, dinner is served," he said. He put down the bottle and rearranged Jasmine so he was holding her in a better position, and then held the bottle to her lips. To his relief she stopped crying and started to drink.

John smiled at her. "Greedy guts – you're gonna get fat," he said.

She kept drinking and John walked slowly back to the bathroom. Teyla was standing up and leaning against the door.

She smiled. "She is going to get fat," she said.

John grinned. "I just told her that, but she didn't seem to care that much," he replied. Teyla chuckled.

"I take it your feeling better?" John asked.

Teyla nodded. "Yes, thank you," she said. "I still feel very nauseous but I do not think I will be sick again."

"That's good," John said. "Why don't you go to bed?"

Teyla looked hesitant. "Are you sure?" She asked. John nodded. "Yeah – tell you what, take my room, and then I can put Jasmine to bed without disturbing you. And if she cries in the night I'll handle it, okay?"

"Well… alright," Teyla said. "Thank you John." She smiled at him and moved into her room, presumably to get changed as she closed the door behind her. John leant back against the wall and looked down at Jasmine. She had drunk about half the bottle and looked like she was slowing down.

"You don't even want all of it?" He said in mock-annoyance. "Honestly, I slave over a hot stove to make you your formula… where's the appreciation?"

Jasmine stopped drinking and blinked up at him. John grinned and walked back to the living room.

Teyla appeared a few minutes later wearing her pyjamas. She stopped at the end of the hallway and smiled again.

"Well, good night," she said.

John looked up from burping Jasmine and nodded. "Yeah, good night," he replied. "If you feel ill again during the night wake me up, okay?"

Teyla shook her head but didn't say anything. She walked over to the chair where he was sitting and smiled down at Jasmine before leaning down and kissing the top of her head.

She smiled at him one last time and then walked into his bedroom without another word.

John watched her go, no longer sure whether he was relieved at the earlier interruption.

_XXXXXX_

_Please review! _


	9. Chapter 9

_WARNING – This is the second of two chapters I uploaded tonight, so make sure you read the other one first else you'll be mightily confused! _

Chapter Nine -

Teyla slept badly that night. She was not sick again, but she still felt very nauseous. She had also become used to sleeping in the same room as Jasmine, and kept listening for the sound of her breathing and having to tell herself all was well when she couldn't hear it.

Most disconcerting of all was the fact that the bed she lay in was John's. She could smell him in the sheets and see him in the room, and it made her restless.

She finally fell asleep at about five, and slept through for a few hours. She felt terrible when she got up though, and must have looked it, because John took one look at her and ordered her back to bed.

Teyla protested, and only relented when John threatened to pick her up and carry her back to bed. The thought conjured up images in her mind that she was quick to dismiss, and she reluctantly returned to bed.

John followed her into the room.

"I'm gonna take Jasmine to the SGC," John said, as she climbed back beneath the covers. "Give you a couple of hours' peace."

"Why do you need to go to the SGC?" Teyla asked.

"It's Wednesday – Atlantis' weekly dial-in is an hour," he said. "I just want to touch base."

Teyla opened her mouth to say she wanted to go with him but he beat her to it. "You're staying in bed," he told her sternly. "Seriously Teyla, just rest for a couple of hours. I'll tell you everything when I get back."

Teyla frowned but nodded. He was right – she was a little tired, and the thought of getting in a car was still unbearable.

"Very well," she said. "Give them my best."

John grinned. "I will," he said. "We'll be back soon."

XXXXXX

John got to the SGC half an hour before the scheduled dial-in, but of course it took a good twenty minutes to get into the base. He was cutting it fine as he strode down the hallway towards the control room, Jasmine's carrier in one hand.

"ColonelSheppard."

John turned around to find Teal'c standing in the middle of the hallway, his hands clasped behind his back and a smile on his face. He hadn't changed much since John had last seen him, except that there was now a streak of grey running through his hair.

"Hey Teal'c," John said. "How's it going?"

"Very well, thank you," Teal'c said, shaking John's arm. "It is a pleasure to see you again." John had heard about SG-1's crazy adventure on the Odyssey, and realised that to Teal'c over fifty years had passed since they had last talked.

It made his six months in Ascension Camp look pretty insignificant.

"You too, Teal'c," John said, grinning at him. Teal'c bent down to look at Jasmine.

"This must be Jasmine."

John grinned again and nodded, holding up the chair so Teal'c could see. He looked down at her and smiled. "She is very beautiful," he said.

"Yeah, thanks," John said.

"When are you returning to Atlantis?" Teal'c asked.

"In a couple of days," John said. "That's why I'm here actually – to check in with them when they send in their weekly report."

"I am also going to the control room for that purpose," Teal'c said.

The two men started to walk and John grinned at him. "So, still sore that we've stolen Sam?" He asked.

Teal'c smiled and inclined his head. "ColonelCarter is greatly missed by all of us," he said.

John nodded. "Well, she's been a lifesaver for me," he said. "But Elizabeth's on the mend – you'll have her back soon."

They had reached the control room, where the rest of SG-1 was waiting for Atlantis to dial in. John smiled at the sight of them – they all missed their team-mate more than most of them would admit.

"Hey Shep," Cam said when he entered. "Teyla not with you?"

John shook his head. "No, she's not feeling too hot," he said, carefully placing Jasmine's chair on an empty seat and standing next to it protectively to make sure no one set it spinning or sat down or anything.

"Nothing serious I hope?" Daniel asked.

"No – she just ate some tainted corndogs at the carnival last night," John said.

"You went to the carnival?!" Vala exclaimed. "Oh, _please _can we go?" She looked beseechingly at the three men standing next to her.

"I already said maybe," Daniel replied. "It depends on SG-4's report on P5 –"

"Oh whatever," Vala said, turning away from him. "I know that means no."

Cam had strolled over to where John was standing and crouched down in front of Jasmine. He looked up at John.

"You know she kinda looks like you when she smiles," he said.

John looked down at Jasmine, who was staring at the flashing lights of the control room, her fist clamped tight around one of Soccer's ears.

"You think?" John asked.

Cam nodded. "Definitely," he said, standing up. "She's got your smile."

Vala appeared next to Cam and smiled down at Jasmine. "She's going to be such a heartbreaker," she said. "Eighteen years from now flyboys are going to _begging _to be transferred to Atlantis, just so they can meet her." She winked at John.

He raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that," he said gruffly. He didn't want to think about anyone under his command trying anything with Jasmine, be she eighteen or forty.

Vala opened her mouth to reply but stopped when the Stargate started to spin and the klaxons started to blare in the control room.

The iris span shut just as the wormhole engaged.

General Landry came down the steps from the briefing room and went to stand next to Chief Harriman.

"Receiving Antlantis' IDC, sir," the Chief said. "Receiving visual and audio."

John grinned and reached down to unbuckle Jasmine from her chair. He picked her and Soccer up just as the screens in the control room flickered and Sam appeared on them, the Atlantis control room in the background. John could just make out what looked like Chuck's arm.

"Colonel Carter, right on time," General Landry said, smiling.

"Thank you sir," Sam said, smiling back. "Hi guys."

"Hey Sam," chorused SG-1. Teal'c just inclined his head, smiling.

"How's it going?" John asked, stepping into the shot.

"Oh, hi John," Sam said. "Don't worry, everything's fine – nothing major to report. We're transmitting our weekly report now." She nodded to Chuck.

"Receiving data transmission," said the Chief. "Transmission received."

"So, how's the baby?" Sam said. John held her up so she could see her more clearly.

"Fine," he said. "We named her Jasmine."

Sam grinned. "That's beautiful," she said. She looked over her shoulder and called across the control room. "Rodney, come and say hi to John."

John could hear Rodney before he could see him.

"I sent all the data on the machine the transmission, I have a lot of work to do, I need to get back to the lab god knows what Liebstein and Jarvis are doing down there without me…"

John rolled his eyes as Rodney stepped into the shot and peered into the camera.

"Hello John," he said.

"Hey Rodney," John said. "So, what did you find out about the machine?"

"I sent all the data we've collected in the transmission," he said.

"Well, you could just tell me now," John said.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "It's a _lot _of data," he said. John glared at him, and he tutted. "Basically they created the machine because they were very busy fighting the Wraith and spread themselves pretty thin, and started to notice a drop in their population levels which worried them," he said. "As far as we can tell the baby will be perfectly normal and there won't be any side-effects. You can read the rest in my report."

"Fine," John said. "And she has a name now – Jasmine."

"Jasmine? Really?"

"Yeah. What's wrong with Jasmine?"

Rodney shrugged. "Nothing. It's nice."

John rolled his eyes. "Look Jasmine, wave to your uncle Rodney," he said, pumping her arm from side to side as though she were waving.

Rodney rolled his eyes again, but John could have sworn he saw him smile for a second.

"Well, have a nice flight back," he said. "Say hi to Teyla. And don't forget my list." He waved and then stood up and left the shot.

John shook his head at Jasmine and rolled his eyes. She blinked up at him, and then smiled. John grinned and looked back up at the screen. Sam was back.

"We're sending you the weekly batch of letters and news," Landry said.

Sam nodded, looking to her left. "Yep, we got it," she said. "I guess we'd better go. See you this time next week."

Landry nodded. "Take care, Colonel," he said.

Sam nodded. "You too sir," she said. "See you guys later."

Vala stepped forward. "Sam, before you go – don't you think it's the boys' duty to take me to the carnival?" She asked.

Sam laughed. "Take Vala to the carnival, guys," she said. "And have fun!"

Vala turned triumphantly to the rest of her team as the connection to Atlantis was severed and the gate disconnected.

John turned to Landry. "General, can I get a copy of McKay's report on the baby-making device?" He asked.

Landy nodded. "Of course," he said. "Chief?"

Walter nodded. "Already on it, sir," he said.

"Colonel, I need a word with you," Landry said, turning back to John. "Let's go to my office."

"Yes sir," John said. He placed Jasmine back in her chair and grinned at SG-1.

"See you guys later," he said, before following Landry up the spiral staircase to the briefing room and his office.

"Have a seat, Colonel," said Landry, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. John sat down, balancing Jasmine's carrier on his knees.

"Is something wrong, sir?" John asked as the General sat down. Landry looked serious, and he had a feeling that whatever he was going to say was going to be unpleasant.

"Depends on how you look at it," Landry said. There was a pause. "The IOA want to meet with you."

"_Ah_." Yep, definitely unpleasant.

"They'll be here tomorrow – you'll have to be here for 1300 hours," said Landry. "I'd advise you _not _to bring Jasmine with you."

John looked down at his daughter, who was drifting off to sleep. He had subconsciously placed his hand on her chest, and she had one little arm tucked over it, holding it there.

He looked back up at General Landry. "Should I bring Teyla?" He asked.

Landry shook his head. "No, just you," he said.

John narrowed his eyes. "I'm gonna assume they want to talk about Jasmine," he said. "Teyla has a right to hear what they say."

"I couldn't agree more, Colonel," Landry replied. "But they asked for you. Just you."

John looked back down at Jasmine, indignation starting to well up inside him. What right did the IOA have to say anything about her? Or to exclude Teyla from the conversation? He took a deep breath, trying to push his negative thoughts aside. It was entirely possible that they just wanted to debrief him about recent events in Pegasus. In fact, it was very likely.

He was panicking for absolutely no reason.

"Okay, sir, I'll be here," he said.

Landry smiled. "Try not to let them get to you, Colonel," he said. "As one father to another, it never helps to lose your temper."

John smiled. "Thank you, sir," he said.

Chief Harriman knocked on the door and at a nod from Landry stepped in and held out a folder towards John.

"Dr McKay's report, sir," he said. John gently removed his hand from under Jasmine's arm and took it off of him.

"Thanks, Walter," he said. He nodded and left.

Landry stood up. "Well, if you'll excuse me," he said.

John followed suit. "Yes sir," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Colonel," said Landry. He smiled. "Bye Jasmine."

John smiled again and headed out of the office door. He found Cam waiting for him.

"In trouble?" Cam asked, as they walked down the hallway towards the elevator.

John rolled his eyes. "The IOA want to talk to me," John told him. Cam shrugged.

"You must have been expecting that," he said reasonably.

"I should have, thinking about it now, but it never even crossed my mind," John said truthfully.

"Well, don't worry about it," said Cam. "You know the IOA – they're all talk."

John made a noncommittal sound and kept walking. The indignant feeling was coming back.

"Seriously Shep," Cam said, keeping pace easily. "You don't even know what they're going to say. And if you want me and Teal'c to rough 'em up for ya…"

John laughed. "Alright, point taken," he said, grinning at Cam.

Cam grinned back. "So, you're leaving on Friday?" John nodded.

"How's about we all meet up tomorrow night?" Cam asked. "Let SG-1 give you a proper send-off?"

John grinned. "Sure, sounds great."

"How about Kyle's?" Cam asked. "He'll be psyched to see you again."

John grinned ruefully. "Actually Teyla and I swung by there last night on the way to the carnival," he told him as they reached the elevator.

"Oh, did you see Kyle?" Cam asked.

John nodded, rolling his eyes at the memory. "Yeah, and he made a complete fool of me, telling Teyla that I didn't stop talking about her when I was here," he said.

Cam raised an eyebrow. "Well, you _didn't_," he said.

John pressed the button to call the elevator and turned back to glare at Cam. "Could you not say anything like that tomorrow night?" He asked. "I've already had Teyla asking me about it – she probably thinks I'm crazy."

"About her?"

John strengthened the glare, and Cam put up his hands in surrender and took a step back. "Okay, okay," he said. "I won't say anything to her."

The elevator doors opened. John glared at him for another second and then shook his head. "I'll see you tomorrow night," he said. "Call me."

Cam raised a hand and waved as the doors slid shut. "Will do," he said. "See you tomorrow."

_XXXXXX_

_Please, please review! _


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer – I own nothing.

Spoilers – Um… _Hide and Seek_, _First Strike_, can't think of any other specific ones…

_A/N – I'm really sorry about how long this has taken – I've been very, very busy the last couple of weeks, plus I completely changed my mind as to what was going to happen in this chapter. I decided it was completely superfluous to the story and got rid of it, though I might turn it into a sequel. Anyway, this chapter is all talk talk talk, I hope you like it._

_I'm dedicating this chapter to __**mydaysrgreen, **__who left me an extra review just to ask for an update, and __**Rafe **__who PMd me on Gateworld to do the same. Hmm… I wonder if they're the same person:P _

_By the way, thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! I really do appreciate them all! _

_Ruby x_

_**Chapter Ten**_

"So they made the machine because of their falling population?" Elizabeth asked as she handed Teyla a cup of tea.

Teyla took a sip and nodded. "Yes. During their war with the Wraith the Ancestors found their numbers dropping severely, and it worried them greatly," she said. "So they created the device. It takes DNA samples from whomever steps onto its podiums. At least one of the people has to have the ATA gene and it has to be a man and a woman."

"That was going to be my next question," Elizabeth said.

Teyla smiled. "Apparently Radek stepped onto one of the podiums not realising Rodney was on the other one, and the device started up," she said. Her grin widened. "It turned on, and they were very panicked for a moment before it turned itself off."

Elizabeth started laughing, but she looked highly disturbed at the same time. "Lord, could you imagine?" She said, shaking her head.

Teyla laughed as well. It was a scary thought.

"They only built the device a year or so before they left Atlantis," she continued. "And many of the Ancestors were… uneasy… with such a clinical method of procreation. It was not used much."

Elizabeth nodded, looking thoughtful.

"We'll have to dismantle it," she said after a moment. "We can't have babies appearing all over the place…" She smiled. "Not that I'm complaining about Jasmine."

Teyla grinned as Elizabeth reached down and tickled Jasmine under her chin. She picked up Soccer the rabbit and held it up to Jasmine's hand, who took it with a smile and bounced it up and down on the floor.

Elizabeth laughed and sat back. Teyla smiled again to see her friend looking happy, and was also very glad to see Elizabeth bonding with Jasmine.

"So, how was the carnival?" Elizabeth asked, tucking her legs under her on the sofa. Teyla did the same on her armchair and smiled ruefully.

"Very… interesting," she said. "We went on many different rides, and I can not say I enjoyed all of them."

Elizabeth laughed. "I never really liked rollercoasters," she said. "Even the small ones at carnivals. John said you weren't well – were you alright?"

"I ate some corndogs that made me quite sick," Teyla explained. "But I am absolutely fine now."

Elizabeth nodded. "You have to be careful with carnival food," she said. "So, did John take you on a Ferris Wheel?"

Teyla could feel her face heating up at the memory of it, and she saw that Elizabeth noticed. She tried her best to sound casual in her answer. "Yes, yes he did," she said. "It was fun." She hoped that Elizabeth wouldn't ask any questions.

No such luck. "What happened on the Ferris Wheel?" Elizabeth said.

Teyla tried to look as innocent as possible. "Nothing," she said. Even to herself she sounded flustered.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Something happened… what was it?" She asked.

"Elizabeth…"

"Please Teyla," Elizabeth said, a teasing smile on her face. "I've been stuck in here for two months. I need gossip!"

Teyla smiled and looked down at Jasmine, who was fascinated by the mobile hanging over her head.

"We almost kissed," Teyla said.

There was a pause. "Only almost?" Elizabeth asked.

Teyla looked up at her. "Yes, _almost_," she repeated firmly.

"What happened?"

Teyla sighed. "We were on the Ferris Wheel and John made me let go of the bar while it was spinning round," she explained. "When it stopped I fell against him and… well… anyway, the Ferris Wheel started again before we could…" Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment.

Elizabeth was smiling again. "It's like a bad romantic comedy," she said after a moment. "You two are _very _annoying."

Teyla shook her head. "It was just in the moment," she said.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Teyla, please, this is me you're talking to," she said.

Teyla looked down at Jasmine again. "It is very complicated, Elizabeth," she said.

"I know it is," Elizabeth replied, sounding sympathetic.

Teyla nodded and smiled sadly. "I really have missed talking to you," she said.

Elizabeth nodded. "Me too," she said. "But that's actually something I wanted to tell you. I was going to wait until John was here as well, but…"

"What?"

"I spoke to my physiotherapist, and she says I still have about three weeks of treatment before I can go back to work," said Elizabeth. "But… she's agreed to come on the Daedalus to Atlantis with me and carry on my treatments there, so I'll be all set by the time it arrives."

Teyla stared at her. "You are coming back with us?" She asked.

Elizabeth nodded, smiling happily. "Yes I am," she said.

Teyla grinned widely and stood up to hug her friend. "Oh Elizabeth, I am so glad!" She said. "Everyone will be so happy to see you!"

Elizabeth laughed. "Even Sam?" She asked.

"_Especially _Sam," Teyla replied. They both laughed and sat back down.

"When did you find out?" Teyla asked.

"Only yesterday," Elizabeth replied. "I've got so much packing to do!"

Teyla looked round the room and smiled. "I can imagine," she said. "We also have a lot of packing to do – we have bought enough baby things to fill the entire Daedalus."

Elizabeth laughed and so did Teyla, though she was only half joking.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Colonel Sheppard, good to see you again. Take a seat."

John nodded and sat down opposite Woolsey. He was flanked by Shen and Chapman, both looking down their noses at them. They were seated at opposite sides of the table in the SGC briefing room, the Earth stargate perfectly visible behind the IOA representatives. John had disliked the IOA since the way they had treated Elizabeth a year ago – before that too, though he hadn't had as good a reason then.

Woolsey though… Woolsey was different. The guy was IOA all the way through, but he sure as hell wasn't anyone's puppet. In fact, John thought that he genuinely wanted to ensure the SGC and Atlantis worked properly and did what they had to. But he also thought that their opinions on this matter differed. He was definitely one to look out for.

"Thank you for coming in, Colonel," Woolsey said, straightening some papers in front of him.

"No problem," John replied gruffly.

Chapman opened a mission report and leant forward.

Forty-five minutes later, they had gone through all his mission reports for the past two months, and several other off-world incidents he hadn't been present at. The fact that they had got through them so quickly and simply made John uneasy – this was obviously not what they wanted to talk to him about. They were trying to lure him into a false sense of security.

John managed not to roll his eyes at his melodramatic thoughts. Still though, that's what it felt like.

"Well, that all seems in order," Woolsey said, nodding at Shen and Chapman. They both nodded back.

John gritted his teeth. _Get to the point. _

Shen opened a report in front of her – John recognised it immediately as Rodney's report on the baby-making device. _Finally_.

"Colonel, you can be under no illusions as to why we wanted to speak to you," Shen said, looking at him sharply.

John thought of several snarky responses, all of which would have made Rodney proud, but decided that it wouldn't help. "No," he said simply.

"This is a very serious… situation," said Chapman. "And one we need to discuss."

"By 'situation' I take it you're referring to my daughter?" John asked, his words like ice.

"The baby that was generated by the Ancient device," Chapman said. "Yes."

John clenched his fist under the table. Smarmy little –

"We have serious reservations about an infant on Atlantis," said Woolsey.

John clenched his other fist as well. "And what are they?" He asked.

"Firstly, we are concerned that your performance as military leader will be affected by the presence of a child," said Woolsey.

"Secondly, we are concerned that the same will be true of the other members of the Atlantis expedition," said Shen. "A child will only serve as a distraction."

"Okay, that is absolutely not true!" John interrupted. The three members of the IOA blinked at him. He tried to keep his voice level.

"When we first got to Atlantis there were plenty of kids on Atlantis," he said. "There were fifteen Athosian children living there, and the youngest was only two. And not a single member of the expedition neglected any of their duties because there were children there, and I'd think they'd be pretty offended to hear you suggesting it."

"Well, since you mention the Athosian children," said Woolsey. "I have a mission report here – written by yourself – in which you detail how one such child released a being made of energy, resulting in the injury of one of your men and the commitment of most of the city's military resources."

John brushed aside the reminder of Ford and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, that wasn't Jinto's fault!" He said. "He found himself in an abandoned lab and pushed a button – he didn't mean to let the thing loose."

"I did not suggest he meant to set it free, Colonel," replied Woolsey calmly. "But the incident proves my point – there are many dangerous experiments on Atlantis that a child can interfere with without realising, placing themselves and others in danger."

"That wouldn't happen again," John said firmly. "That was during the first few days we were on Atlantis, and it was chaos. There was stuff everywhere, and we didn't know what anything was. Jinto actually discovered the transporters when he got in that lab, which made our job a lot easier."

Woolsey and the others didn't look too impressed, but John wasn't finished. "I'm sure someone would have let it out at some point, and as it turned out it was a good thing that it happened _then_ because Dr McKay had a personal shield that enabled him to get rid of it," he said. "Besides, if we're talking about going into labs and turning things on, there are lots of people on Atlantis – including me – who have screwed up in that department. Adult people."

"Well, be that as it may, a baby would take a lot of looking after," said Chapman.

"There are 250 people on Atlantis, I think we can handle it," said John.

"So you intend to use the Atlantis personnel as babysitters?" Asked Shen.

John scowled at her, and took a deep breath to try and keep his anger in check. "_No_," he said. "What I'm saying is that there a lot of people who would _want _to help look after her. I wouldn't use people to do anything - I would never abuse my position in that way!"

"No, I don't believe you would, Colonel," said Woolsey. "But the fact remains that you will have a baby to take care of, and will have split loyalties in Atlantis if she is there."

John frowned. "Are you saying that someone in the military can't have a family?" He asked.

"Of course not –"

"_Thousands _of soldiers and airmen have kids, and they manage to do their jobs!"

"Those soldiers don't have their children living on base with them," said Chapman.

John raised an eyebrow. "Okay, that's just not true," he said. There was a moments' pause.

"Let's leave the baby aside for a moment," said Woolsey, shuffling his notes.

"Jasmine."

"Pardon?"

"Her name is Jasmine," said John calmly. "Jasmine Emmagan Sheppard."

John saw the significant glances and had a feeling he knew what was coming. _Deep breaths. Don't let it get to you._

"We have another, very serious concern," said Chapman. "Namely your relationship with Teyla Emmagan."

"We are very concerned that this child – Jasmine – will bring about a serious change in your relationship," said Woolsey.

_Deep. Breaths. _

"Well, obviously," said John, pretending that he didn't understand what they were getting at. He needed time to gather his thoughts. "We have a daughter now, which means we'll have to stay friends for at least eighteen years."

"That is not what we mean, Colonel," said Chapman.

John looked him straight in the eye. "Then what _do _you mean?" He asked.

Chapman didn't back down. "Are you romantically involved with Teyla Emmagan?" He said.

John stared back at him. His fists were clenched again. "That is _none _of your business," he said.

"Colonel, it is a reasonable question," said Woolsey. "You are the military leader of Atlantis and Miss Emmagan is a member of your team."

"Teyla and I are _friends_," said John.

Woolsey nodded. "I know," he said. "I don't really believe that you would have a romantic relationship and keep it a secret."

"Good," said John.

"My concern is that this – Jasmine – will cause your relationship with Miss Emmagan to develop into something beyond friendship," said Woolsey.

John didn't know what to say first. He settled on the simplest.

"So?"

Woolsey blinked. "Excuse me?" He said.

"So what if it did?" John said. "Teyla isn't in the military. She isn't even from Earth. We wouldn't be breaking any rules."

"She is under your command, Colonel," said Shen.

John folded his arms and sat back. "Teyla is the leader of an entire people. She can beat anyone on Atlantis in a fight – and frequently does – and is one of our main assets when it comes to trade and negotiation. She _chooses _to be a member of my team. She's not under my command," he said. "Fraternisation regulations don't apply to us."

"Colonel –"

"He's right, Richard."

John jumped to his feet as General O'Neill walked into the room, his hat under one arm, his eyes on the IOA panel.

John saluted sharply as he neared the table, and General O'Neill saluted back, a little more carelessly. "Sheppard, I was in the neighbourhood, thought I'd stop by," he said. "I hope you don't mind."

John was so glad for the back-up he wanted to _hug _him, and that urge didn't come over him too often. He shrugged instead. "No problem, Sir," he said, smirking slightly.

"Richard, you don't mind if I sit in for a few minutes, do you?" General O'Neill said, looking over at Woolsey.

Woolsey raised an eyebrow, not looking too impressed. "Of course not General," he said. "Have a seat."

General O'Neill took a seat and John sat back down as well.

"Right, so what were we talking about?" The general said. "Oh yeah – Teyla and Sheppard. They're not breaking any rules."

"That's debatable, General," said Chapman.

"You can debate it all you want," said General O'Neill. "But you'd still be wrong."

Woolsey held up his hands to stop Chapman retorting. "Alright, let's just accept for argument's sake that they wouldn't be breaking any rules," he said. "That actually makes the situation more serious. In that case we are faced with two members of Atlantis' flagship team involved in an open romantic relationship, a situation which would be bound to drastically change the dynamic of the team and their performance."

John narrowed his eyes. "I don't see that it would," he said. "I am perfectly capable of separating my professional and personal lives."

"I know you are not naïve, Colonel, so please don't pretend to be," said Woolsey.

"Teyla is a good friend of mine," said John. "So are Ronon and Rodney McKay. I have to order them into life-threatening situations on a weekly basis, and I always have. They all know what it means to be a member of my team, and I know what it means to be the leader."

"So you're saying that if you and Teyla Emmagan were engaged in a romantic relationship your actions towards her would not change?" Asked Chapman.

"As a member of my team, no," said John. He smirked. "I imagine they'd change in other ways though…"

Woolsey rolled his eyes. "Colonel, please, this is serious," he said.

"I don't know why we're still talking about this," said General O'Neill. "The bottom line is that you can't stop Sheppard starting a relationship with Teyla. Move on."

"General, it is not for you to dictate the direction this meeting takes," said Woolsey, glaring at the General, who just rolled his eyes. "But we will move on."

"I would like to return to the subject of the baby," said Shen. "It is simply not feasible to raise a child on Atlantis. The baby can not be allowed to return."

"She's coming back with me," said Sheppard. "It's not negotiable."

Chapman leant forward and clasped his hands together on the table. "Colonel, do you really think it fair to raise a child in a place as dangerous as Atlantis?"

John rolled his eyes. "Atlantis is a lot safer than most places on Earth," he said. "Jasmine will be surrounded by some of the smartest people in two galaxies and protected by the most well-trained military Earth has to offer. She's got a huge extended family on Atlantis and New Athos – she's a damn lucky kid!"

"But with the constant threat of the Wraith…"

"What about the constant threat to Earth from the Goa'uld and the Replicators and the Ori?" John retorted.

Shen arched one eyebrow. "Those threats have been neutralised," she said.

John folded his arms. "I wonder how long it will be before you find a new one?" He said peevishly.

"Colonel, be reasonable –" Chapman tried.

"She's my _daughter_," said John.

"She was generated in an Ancient device less than a week ago!" Said Shen.

General O'Neill put his hand on John's shoulder to prevent him jumping up, and spoke before John could. "That's out of line!" He said. "It doesn't matter how she was born, she's still Sheppard's kid. And take it from me that it takes no time at all to love your child, so her _age _has nothing to do with it."

"The baby will severely hinder Colonel Sheppard's duties on Atlantis," said Shen.

"No, she will not," said John through gritted teeth. "And her _name _is _Jasmine_."

Shen pursed her lips angrily but didn't answer.

Woolsey sighed. "The _bottom line _is that Atlantis is a military base, and is not the place for a child of any age," he said.

"No it isn't," said John. "It's not just a military base. It's a city. You ask the people who live there where home is, and most of them won't say Earth. The people who live there really _live _there. It's not just some posting to us. It's our home."

"The Atlantis personnel don't go back to houses at the end of the day, like the SGC staff," added O'Neill. "Sheppard's right."

Woolsey opened his mouth to say something, but John cut him off. He was beyond ticked off now.

"Jasmine is travelling back to Atlantis on the Daedalus," he said. "We're going to raise her in our city, and she's going to be the most loved and well-cared for kid in the galaxy. She's not against any rules, she's not going to get in the way of anything, and when Teyla and I have six more children the natural way, they won't get in the way either."

General O'Neill snorted. "Only six?" He asked.

Sheppard shrugged. "We'll see," he growled.

General O'Neill stood up. "I think we're finished here, don't you?" He said.

Woolsey, Shen and Chapman also stood up. "We will be submitting our report," was all Woolsey said.

General O'Neill turned to face John as he stood up. "I saw the President yesterday, Sheppard," he said. "He said to tell you congratulations, and that he'd love to see a picture."

John grinned. "Thanks Sir," he said. "I'll be sure to get one to him."

Woolsey snapped shut his briefcase in what John considered a very melodramatic manner. "We'll be reviewing this case in three months, Colonel," he said. "We'll be in touch."

John nodded. "Okay," he said. "Talk to you then."

And with that he followed General O'Neill into Landry's office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Please review!_


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer – I own none of the Stargate franchise.

_Spoilers – _

_**Chapter Eleven**_

"Well, that was fun," said General O'Neill as soon as the door was closed.

John leant back against the door and nodded. "Yes Sir," he said.

"You did well, Sheppard," said the General. "You kept your cool… well, except for the quip about six kids, but that was pretty good."

John managed a weak smile. "Thanks Sir," he said. "And thanks for helping out."

General O'Neill shrugged. "Like I said, I was in the neighbourhood," he said. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of Landry's desk. "As soon as I heard about Jasmine I knew the IOA would be all over you."

John nodded. "Yeah, I should have expected it too," he said, also taking a seat.

"You didn't?"

"Nope," said John. "Too busy getting used to having a baby."

General O'Neill chuckled. "Yeah, I can imagine," he said. "So how is she?"

John grinned. "She's great," he replied. "Cute as a button – she looks just like Teyla."

"That's lucky," quipped the General.

John nodded. "No arguments from me," he said.

"You mind if I tag along with you and meet her?" Asked the General.

John shook his head. "Not at all, Sir," he said. "She and Teyla are visiting Elizabeth."

"Cool," said the General. John went to stand up but O'Neill put up a hand to stop him. Feeling confused, John sank back down into the chair.

"Sheppard, you know I like you," said O'Neill. "You're a great officer and you've done a hell of a job on Atlantis."

John frowned. "Er, thank you, Sir," he said.

O'Neill nodded. "Right. That said, you're a complete idiot."

John blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You're an idiot," O'Neill repeated. "I know that what you said in there was mostly to tick off the IOA, but you and I both know that it was true."

"Sir?"

"The truth is you _wouldn't _be breaking any rules if you and Teyla started a relationship," said O'Neill. "So what's stopping you?"

John could feel his face heating up and found himself wondering if the General would be able to keep up with him if he just ran away.

Probably not, but he could just lock down the base and stop him before he got too far. Damn.

"It… it's not that simple Sir," he said, knowing that his face was now bright red.

"Yes it is, Sheppard," he said.

"No, Sir, it's _not_," said John, starting to feel annoyed. "It's never been that simple. Teyla and I… we have responsibilities. Serious responsibilities. We can't just abandon them to –"

"Oh what a load of _crap_," said O'Neill. "You have a _kid_ Sheppard, you don't think that's a responsibility?"

"Of course, it is, but that's different! And Jasmine has nothing to do with Teyla and I."

O'Neill just raised an eyebrow at him. John rolled his eyes.

"Alright, so Jasmine changes things," he said. "But not… Teyla and I couldn't be in a relationship. There's just too much other stuff…"

"No one's saying it would be easy," said O'Neill.

John shook his head. "It just can't happen," he said.

O'Neill narrowed his eyes at him. "Well, I still think you're an idiot," he said.

John shrugged. "I've been called worse," he said, hoping the conversation was over. He had a feeling it wasn't.

"I really think that if you just let this go you'll wind up regretting it," said O'Neill.

"But if I try to start a –"

General O'Neill raised both eyebrows this time and cut off John's mumbling. "Sheppard, are you _scared_?"

"I'm terrified!" John burst out. "Of _course_ I want to be with Teyla, but I can't! What if it doesn't work out? She's one of my best friends, and it would completely screw up everything!"

John got up and started to pace the room, his voice rising in volume with every circuit. "And there's Jasmine to think about – I don't want her growing up with me and Teyla hating each other! What if it _did _work out? I wasn't kidding when I said we have responsibilities – Teyla's the leader of an entire race of people for crying out loud! What if the Athosians didn't like it? I wouldn't want to put Teyla in that position – it's not fair! And what if… what if Teyla doesn't feel the same way? I mean, why would she want someone like _me_ anyway? I'm not good with relationships… I proved that fifteen years ago."

John's voice trailed off and he leaned back against the wall, staring at the floor. The room was silent and eventually John raised his eyes to look up at General O'Neill, who looked back at him with a blank expression.

After a couple of seconds more the General stood up. "Come on, let's get out of here before Landry catches us in his office," he said, striding to the door John was leaning next to.

John, relieved beyond belief that the conversation was over – and more than a little embarrassed – nodded. "Yes Sir," he said.

O'Neill opened the door and motioned for John to go through it. He did so, staring at the floor again.

O'Neill shook his head and followed him out into the corridor.

"Idiot."

"Yes Sir."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Teyla had just finished burping Jasmine when there was a knock on the door. Elizabeth went over to the door and looked through the viewer.

"John brought a friend," she said, smiling at Teyla.

Elizabeth pulled open the door. "Hi, come in," she said.

John stepped into the room, followed by General O'Neill. Teyla smiled widely and stood up, Jasmine tight in her arms.

Elizabeth closed the door. "General O'Neill, how are you?" She asked.

O'Neill smiled. He was wearing his dress uniform but was holding the jacket and tie in one hand, his hat tucked under his arm, and looked very uncomfortable. "I'm fine thanks, Elizabeth," he said. "You're looking well – I hear you're going back."

John's jaw dropped. "You're going back?!" He exclaimed.

O'Neill looked sheepish. "Whoops. Did I just spoil a nice moment?" He said.

Teyla laughed, and Elizabeth grinned. "Yes, John, I'll be on the Daedalus tomorrow," she confirmed.

John's face lit up and Teyla smiled. "That's fantastic!" He said.

General O'Neill tapped him on the shoulder with a stony expression. "My wife not good enough for you Sheppard?" He said.

John's smile faded. "No sir, I mean yes sir, it's just, er –" O'Neill started to smirk and John rolled his eyes. "Sir, could you _not_ do that to me?" He said.

O'Neill shrugged. "Aw, it's fun," he said. "Hi Teyla."

Teyla smiled at the General. "It is good to see you again General O'Neill," she said as he stepped past John and walked over to her.

"So, this must be Jasmine," he said, looking down at her. She looked up at him curiously, and O'Neill smiled.

"She's adorable," he said, holding out his finger for her to hold. Jasmine clamped her fist around it. "Teyla, she looks just like you." He looked up at her and Teyla smiled graciously.

"Are you bringing her out with us tonight?" O'Neill asked. "Daniel invited me – I hope you don't mind," he added, looking over his shoulder at John, who shook his head.

"Of course not sir," he said. "And yeah we are. Kyle wants to see her."

O'Neill chuckled. "Ah, Kyle. Haven't seen him in ages," he said "You coming out tonight Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Teyla already invited me, but I'm afraid I can't," she said. "I haven't even started packing."

O'Neill gave her a stern look. "That's a lame excuse," he said. "I haven't packed either."

Everyone looked at the General in surprise. "You're going to Atlantis?" Teyla asked.

O'Neill gave her a lopsided smile. "Sure. I'm owed a vacation," he said. "And I've got a feeling it will take effort to prise Sam away from all those Ancient doohickeys."

They all laughed and O'Neill tickled Jasmine under her chin, earning himself a smile from her as well.

Teyla looked up at John, who was watching Jasmine with a smile. "How was the meeting with the IOA?" She asked.

John glanced up at her but quickly looked away. He shrugged. "It was fine," he said. "They just asked me about some recent missions, and the device that created Jasmine, that sort of thing," he said.

"Was that all?" Elizabeth asked, looking surprised.

John turned to face Elizabeth, but Teyla was sure that he glanced at her again as he did so. "Yeah," he said. "They're not the sunniest people in the world, but it wasn't too bad. Plus General O'Neill joined the meeting, ready to save me from them."

General O'Neill smirked. "He didn't need much saving," he said. "They weren't too bad."

John nodded his agreement and folded his arms. Teyla thought he looked highly uncomfortable. There was a moment's silence.

"She really is beautiful," General O'Neill said, looking down at Jasmine again.

"Thank you, General," said Teyla.

"Well, I have to go – I just wanted to meet this one," said O'Neill. "But I'll see you at Kyle's tonight."

"See you then," said Teyla.

"We should probably be going too," said John. "We have a lot of packing to do as well."

"Yes, we have bought enough clothes for at least six babies," said Teyla. She smiled at John, but he didn't smile back. Instead he cleared his throat and turned around.

"Yeah, well, we'll see you tomorrow, then, Elizabeth," said John, starting towards the door.

Teyla exchanged a confused glance with Elizabeth and set about strapping Jasmine into her carry-seat and packing away all her things. Something was obviously bothering John – maybe his meeting with the IOA hadn't gone as well as he had said.

"Do you want a lift back to Cheyenne Mountain, Sir?" John asked General O'Neill.

"No thanks, Sheppard, Sam and I have an apartment a few blocks from here," he answered.

"Teyla, see you tonight," he said. "Elizabeth, see you on the Daedalus. Sheppard – one word for you."

John nodded dumbly and held the door open for the General as he left.

XXXXXX

_Please review! _


	12. Chapter 12

Spoilers – Window of Opportunity (SG-1)

_Please review! _

_**Chapter Twelve**_

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again – no one makes onion rings quite like you."

Kyle laughed as he continued to clear plates from their table. "Thanks Jack," he said. "We use real onions for you."

Everyone laughed and Kyle walked off to put away the plates. Earlier in the evening the bar had been almost empty and he had sat with them and shared some drinks, and fussed over Jasmine like he'd never seen a baby before. He was a natural with her, and Jasmine hadn't stopped smiling as he made faces at her.

She was dropping off now, though, as Teyla rocked her gently. Her eyes were drooping, though she was trying to keep them open. Teyla had a feeling that she would grow to be a child who tended to take issue with her bedtime.

"So, you sad you're leaving?" Cam asked John, who was sitting opposite him. Teyla looked past Teal'c at John, wondering what his response would be. She knew he loved Atlantis, but he had obviously enjoyed being at home for this short time.

"Don't know about _glad_," said John. "But I'm eager to get home."

The members of SG-1 (past and present) laughed and John blinked at them in confusion. Teyla smiled and looked back down at her daughter.

"You've become such a native," said Vala. "It's very sweet."

John shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I have," he said.

Jasmine was now asleep. Teyla laid her very carefully in her carry-seat and buckled her in, tucking Soccer under her arm.

Teyla turned back to the group and sipped at her drink. It was her second beer of the evening – John was not letting her drink too much, even though she had tried to tell him that Athosian alcohol was far stronger, but she did not mind too much. John was drinking nothing at all, as he was driving.

Teyla watched John talk and laugh with Cam and General O'Neill (who had told her to call him Jack, though he had not extended the offer to John. Teyla felt that he was doing this to annoy him rather than snub him.)

Anyway, John seemed to be having a good time. He and Cam were obviously very good friends, and they both got on very well with Gen – Jack. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering him. He barely looked at her, and did not say much to her directly, and while this was not particularly worrying in a large group like now, during the day it had been very awkward.

He had collected her and Jasmine from Elizabeth's and they had spent the rest of the day packing all the things they had to take with them on the Daedalus. The baby things they had bought filled about a half-a-dozen large boxes, and that was just clothes and toys. The other things, such as diapers and formula, were left in their bulk packaging. Airmen from the Daedalus had arrived early in the evening to take everything to the ship, and had been astounded by the amount they had bought. Luckily, it seemed Colonel Caldwell had told them to take everything there was without complaint, something Teyla had to remember to thank him for.

While they had been packing John had been very quiet. He told Teyla very little about his meeting with the IOA – just that it had gone well. She was not sure that she believed him, but did not feel comfortable interrogating him. He would not keep anything important to do with Jasmine from her, she was sure.

Vala picked up John's digital camera from the table and turned it on to look through the pictures. She had claimed it as soon as John had produced it, and had been taking pictures of the group all evening. Now she flicked through the pictures she had taken, giving her opinion on them all.

She stopped at one and gasped. "Oh, that is _adorable_!" She exclaimed. She looked up at Teyla. "Did you take that?"

Teyla leant over Daniel to see the camera and looked at the display. It was the photograph she had taken the night before, and had completely forgotten about.

The night before she had gone to take a bath, leaving John watching a football game in the lounge and looking after Jasmine.

When she had gone back into the lounge a little while later, the football game was still on but John was fast asleep. He lay on his back on the sofa, his head turned towards the screen, a small smile on his face. His hands were wrapped tight around Jasmine's back, who was lying on her front of his chest, her tiny body moving up and down as her father breathed. She was also fast asleep.

Teyla had never seen anything so sweet or so beautiful, and her heart had overflowed with a feeling she had no trouble in identifying. She had sat on an armchair and watched them sleep for a minute or so, but then reasoned that it was getting late and she had to put Jasmine to bed properly.

Still, she hadn't been able to resist taking a photograph before waking up John. But she hadn't shown it to him yet.

Teyla nodded in response to Vala's question, and Vala quickly held out the camera across the table to John. "Sheppard, you _have _to have this framed!"

Teyla watched John closely. He peered at the camera in confusion, and then his eyes widened and his cheeks got oddly flushed. He looked straight at Teyla for the first time that hour, and Teyla offered him a sheepish smile. He narrowed his eyes but smiled at the same time, obviously amused.

"We'll see," he said, looking back at Vala, who grinned and showed the picture to everyone else.

"So," said Jack loud enough for everyone to hear. "I've been thinking about what we should do now, and I have a _crazy_ idea…"

"No!" Exclaimed Daniel and Cam at the same moment, looking stricken.

"An excellent suggestion, O'Neill," said Teal'c, bowing his head graciously.

"What?" Asked John, looking as confused as Teyla felt.

"Please Jack, I really –"

"I'm begging you Sir –"

Jack cut off both Daniel and Cam, who had started to talk at the same time. "Crazy Golf, Sheppard!" He said. "There's a course round the corner."

"It's a twenty minute drive away!" Protested Daniel, but only Teyla seemed to hear him, as both John and Vala proclaimed their enthusiasm at the same time.

"I've always wanted to go to crazy golf, but Daniel always refuses to take me!" Said Vala, looking delighted.

"Dump him," said Jack. Daniel rolled his eyes and took a gulp of his beer.

"This is brilliant, I haven't been to Crazy Golf since… er… jeez, I can't even remember!" Said John, grinning widely. He looked down the table at Teyla.

"You can't get out of this one Teyla, so don't even try!" He said. Teyla widened her eyes innocently.

"I would not dream of doing such a thing," she said.

John quirked an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, right," he scoffed.

"Play golf in Rio, do you?" Asked Jack.

"We hit balls into the ocean from one of the piers," said John.

"Heck of a driving range," said Jack. John nodded.

"Yeah, it's not like there's anywhere else we can play there," said John.

Jack grinned wolfishly. "T and I developed a pretty great method at Cheyenne," he said. "We used the gate."

John's eyes widened. "Active?"

"Oh yeah."

John burst out laughing. "That's _brilliant_!" He said. "Can you imagine lobbing balls through to 514?"

PG3 -514 was one of the most heavily-occupied Wraith planets they knew of. Teyla wasn't sure what John was talking about but he seemed to find it very amusing.

"We could write insults on the balls… it would be so funny!" He said. "Oh, Elizabeth would never let us… we'd need some kind of diversion… how did you get away with it?" He asked Jack.

Jack chuckled. "I'll tell you later," he said. "So, we agreed? Crazy Golf?"

Cam sighed. "If we must," he said.

John smirked. "You're just really bad at it, aren't you?" He asked.

Cam glared at him but didn't respond.

"You playing Danny boy?" Called Jack down the table.

Daniel looked defeated for a moment before brightening up. "I'll carry Jasmine," he said.

Cam glared at Daniel as though jealous he hadn't thought of that excuse. Teyla had to laugh.

She did not know what Crazy Golf was, but she hoped it was more fun than what John did on Atlantis.

_XXXXXXXXX_

John handed Teyla a putter and watched, amused, as she twirled it in her hand like a bantos stick.

"Stop showing off," he said with a smile. Teyla smiled back and obediently held the putter normally.

John was feeling very excited. He had trawled through his memory and identified his last game of Crazy Golf as being _eight years ago_. That was practically _illegal_, in decent society.

And this looked like a great course.

John had been feeling on edge all day after that meeting with the IOA and his conversation with General O'Neill after. He had felt unable to look at Teyla properly while they had been packing - he'd been so embarrassed by what he'd said - and all evening he'd been nervous that the General might say something.

But he hadn't. General O'Neill had acted like absolutely nothing had happened, and John had started to relax. Now he felt like Christmas, his birthday, Thanksgiving and the Superbowl had fallen on the same day.

Once everyone had putters and balls (except Daniel, who had Jasmine's carry-seat held securely to his chest) they made their way over to the first hole.

"Okay, so the point is to get the ball into the hole by hitting it with the putter," John said to Teyla, gesturing at the first hole. It was relatively simple – it was straight line with a bump in the green to navigate over.

Teyla narrowed her eyes and surveyed the hole. John got the feeling that she was going to put far too much thought into this game.

General O'Neill went first. He got it in two. Teal'c got it in one. Cam went next, and John was proved right. It took him four. Vala went next and got it in two. John got it in one. Then it was Teyla's turn. She hit the ball way too hard and it almost came back over the bump. But she managed to sink the ball on her second go.

Teyla was very happy she hadn't come last, and John was happy for her, though he had a feeling she was going to have trouble as the holes got harder. He had noticed that her grip was completely wrong, sending her ball in a completely wrong direction. And in this game, aim was everything.

Cam's bad luck continued on the next hole, much to his chagrin and John's delight, but everyone else managed it in under three shots. John got it in one, which he was gleefully able to use as extra ammunition against Cam.

It took Teyla four shots to sink her ball, and the next hole had a tunnel to aim for. The lessons had to begin.

When it was Teyla's turn on the next hole John stopped her before she could take her shot.

"Teyla, you need to correct your grip," he said.

Teyla frowned up at him. "What do you mean?" She asked. John stepped onto the course and stood in front of her. Most of the others had wandered onto the next hole, and the people behind them were only just starting, so he had time.

"You're holding the club wrong, and it's throwing off your aim," he explained. He demonstrated the correct grip on his own putter. "You see?"

Teyla looked and adjusted her hands on her putter. It was almost right, but not quite. John didn't really want to get too close – he didn't want to have to endure knowing looks from General O'Neill (or Cam for that matter) – but they had moved on and he couldn't very well keep his distance from her forever.

He stepped closer and stood next to her. He reached in front of her and placed his hands on hers, adjusting them so they were right.

_This isn't so bad_. Well of course it wasn't _bad_, but John was able to concentrate on what he was doing and not just on the nearness of Teyla, which was good. There was hope for him yet.

"Okay, now plant your feet shoulder-width apart, keep your knees loose and don't hit it too hard," he said, stepping back.

Teyla nodded and hit the ball. It was a perfect shot, and went straight through the tunnel, hit the wall and rebounded into the hole.

John whooped and clapped as Teyla grinned.

"Nicely done!" He said. It had taken _him_ two shots.

Teyla went to get her ball, still grinning widely, and then they caught up with the others.

John continued giving Teyla pointers throughout the evening, and though she didn't get any more hole-in-ones she managed to make par for the most part.

Teal'c had an uncanny ability when it came to Crazy Golf and was obviously going to win, and so the game quickly became a competition between John and General O'Neill. By the end of it, the General managed to beat him by one shot.

John consoled himself with the fact that he beat Cam by thirty-seven.

They all walked back to the car park together, laughing at Cam's dismal score. He scowled at them all but refused to say anything.

They had to part ways by the cars. Teal'c was driving Cam, Daniel and Vala back to Cheyenne Mountain, while John and Teyla were giving the General a lift back to his apartment, which was near Elizabeth's.

Vala softly kissed Jasmine on her forehead, careful not to wake her up. "It was so nice to meet you Teyla," she said, smiling brightly at her. "Take care of Jasmine, and make sure you keep sending us pictures!"

Teyla smiled back. "It was wonderful to meet you too, Vala," she said. "We will be sure to send you pictures. Take care."

"You too," said Daniel. "Both of you. And good luck"

"Back at ya," said John, shaking his hand warmly and allowing Vala to kiss him on the cheek.

Teal'c stepped forward and shook John's arm again, smiling. "Farewell, ColonelSheppard," he said. He nodded at Teyla. "TeylaEmmagen, it has been an honour."

Teyla nodded back. "For me also, Teal'c," she said.

"Keep in touch, Shep," said Cam, shaking his hand. He pulled John into a loose hug, and John chuckled.

"I will, Mitch, take care buddy," he said, patting him on the back.

"Look after your family," said Cam, smiling as he stepped back. "Teyla, it's been a real pleasure. Bye Jasmine!"

"Hey! _I'm_ going away as well!" Said General O'Neill, mock-glaring at SG-1.

John and Teyla laughed as SG-1 glanced at each other and then suddenly surrounded the General and pulled him into a huge group hug. He managed to squirm out of it, but he was grinning as he did so.

"Alright, alright," he said. "See you guys in a few weeks."

"Give Sam a hug from me!"

"Take care O'Neill."

"Have fun, Sir."

"Don't break anything."

Jack glared at Daniel. "That was _not _my fault!" He said. Daniel just raised an eyebrow, and Jack turned to John and Teyla.

"Let's get out of here before he turns nasty," he said.

John grinned and, with a final wave to SG-1, they climbed into his rented car. They strapped Jasmine into the backseat and General O'Neill, ever the gentleman, insisted Teyla have the passenger seat.

"I should get used to looking after babies again, anyway," he said as they started off.

Teyla smiled. "Only three months to go, is that right?" She asked

Jack grinned. "Three and a half," he said. "I can't wait."

They chatted idly about arrangements for the next morning – Airforce cars were arriving for them to take them to Cheyenne Mountain, where they would be flown by helicopter to the Daedalus' landing site.

John was looking forward to flying in a helicopter again and said so.

"Yeah, you must miss it," General O'Neill. "Puddlejumpers are _great_, don't get me wrong, but there's nothing like pulling Gs."

John nodded. "Oh yeah," he said. "Do you think they'll let me fly the copter?"

General O'Neill chuckled. "You're such a kid," he said. "Must be tough, Teyla, to have two babies to look after."

"Four," Teyla corrected him, her eyes twinkling with amusement. John and the General laughed.

"You looking forward to getting back?" Asked the General.

Teyla nodded. "I must admit I am," she said. "I have greatly enjoyed my time here, but I am anxious to get back home."

It was almost exactly what John had said earlier in the bar, and he glanced at her in surprise. She was looking at him, and smiled slightly before looking out of the window. John couldn't help but smile.

As he looked away he happened to glance in the rearview mirror and saw that General O'Neill was smirking slightly as he caught his eye, though he looked away quickly.

John glanced at Teyla, but she hadn't noticed. He gripped the wheel tighter and stared straight ahead. A few minutes later they arrived at O'Neill's apartment block and the General got out.

"See you tomorrow, then," he said.

"Good night, Jack."

"See you later, Sir."

John was silent as he drove them back to his apartment, mentally kicking himself every second. He had thought that he was alright, that he was able to act like nothing had happened, that nothing had changed. But one simple statement from Teyla, one look from O'Neill, and he was back to being an awkward, embarrassed wrack again.

What was he going to do?

They got into the apartment and thankfully Teyla said she was tired and going straight to bed. She disappeared into her room and John wandered into his, throwing himself onto the bed fully clothed. He kicked off his shoes and lay staring up at the dark ceiling.

He couldn't believe he had said all that to General O'Neill. He had felt it for months – years, probably – but now that he had said it out loud it was though it had taken on new meaning. Now he couldn't ignore it.

But he had to. He had to get things back to normal, if not for his own peace of mind then for Jasmine.

The Daedalus was the perfect place to start. He wouldn't have to spend all his time with Teyla – in fact there'd be quite a few new recruits he'd be able to begin training – and he could work on getting his friendship with Teyla back to normal without too much pressure on him.

He could do it. He could do it for his daughter.

_TBC…_


	13. Chapter 13

Spoilers – First Strike.

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

"Sir, is it true you flew Atlantis?"

John raised an eyebrow at Lieutenant Rushwood. "Yep," he replied.

The Lieutenant stared at him. "The _city_ can _fly_?" he said.

"Yep."

"And you _flew it_?"

John shrugged. "It really wasn't that hard," he said modestly. The look of awe on the young Lieutenant's face was a little much.

Lieutenant Bellamy spoke up now. John had only known him for one hour and already he got on his nerves.

"All he had to do was sit on the chair, Rushwood," he said scathingly. "Anyone with the ATA gene could have done it."

The words '_I could have done it easily_' hung unsaid in the air. Bellamy seemed to think that the fact he had the ATA gene made him God's gift to the Atlantis expedition.

Rushwood scowled at Bellamy and John appreciated the kid's indignation on his behalf, but was quick to break up the argument he knew was about to happen.

"It's true that I just had to sit on the chair," said John. "But it took a fair bit of concentration."

Rushwood and Bellamy glared at each other. John wasn't worried about either of them – Rushwood would soon get over his hero-worship, and Bellamy would get brought down a peg or two.

"Are there any other questions?" Asked John.

John saw several of the new recruits exchanging glances. He had a hunch he knew what they wanted to ask.

"Well?" He prompted. He wasn't going to make this easy for them and answer it without being asked the question.

One of the Captains raised his hand tentatively. "Maine?" John said, nodding at him.

Captain Maine hesitated for a second. "Well, Sir, er, we heard a rumour that… is it true that you… er… activatedanancientdevicethatproducedahumanbaby?" Maine looked like he was glad that was over with.

John looked round at the new recruits. All twenty-three of them were paying more attention than he had seen them pay at any point during the briefing.

"Yes, it's true," he said. More glances. And a few whispers. John rolled his eyes and kept talking.

"My team and I were exploring the North pier a few days ago, and we came across an Ancient lab," he explained. "We found an Ancient device that activated when I touched it, and it produced a baby using a combination of my DNA and the DNA of a member of my team, Teyla Emmagen."

Twenty-three pairs of eyes stared at him.

"My daughter's name is Jasmine," he said. "She's on board with us and I'm sure you'll see her around a lot. She looks about six weeks old, but in truth she was born a few days ago."

John smiled at his new recruits. "And before you ask, Dr McKay and his team are in the process of dismantling the device, so don't get any ideas," he said.

A few of them chuckled, but most of them still looked quite shocked. John had to appreciate their amazement – Atlantis and all its technology was a bit overwhelming.

"Any other questions?" John asked.

No one said anything, so John rubbed his hands together. "Okay then," he said. "There's another briefing in here the day after tomorrow at 0900, with Dr Weir and myself. We'll sort out training schedules at that briefing. Until then, just get used to being on board, and try not to break anything. Dismissed."

John stayed seated as his newbies filed out. They seemed like a decent bunch, all were alert and attentive, and had excellent service records. John was actually looking forward to being able to train them over the next few weeks – it gave him something to do here, and one less thing to do when he got back to Atlantis.

The Daedalus had left Earth four hours before. That morning John, Teyla and Jasmine had been picked up right on time and had met General O'Neill at Cheyenne Mountain. Unfortunately, John hadn't been allowed to fly the helicopter, but it had been great to go up in one all the same. He wasn't sure Teyla had enjoyed it so much – John had found himself very glad he had taken her on all those rides at the carnival, simply because she had been slightly more prepared for the experience.

Jasmine slept through the whole thing. John didn't know how she did it.

She woke up when they got to the Daedalus, though. There were so many people oohing and aahing over her that it would have been _impossible _for her to stay asleep.

The crew of the Daedalus thought she was adorable. To Teyla's great amusement most of them said how much she looked like John, which he found mildly insulting as she was crying and looked at her very worst.

John saw Colonel Caldwell very briefly just after he boarded, but they barely had time to exchange salutes before he had had to hurry off to the bridge. John wasn't sure what he would think of his daughter being on board his ship.

John and Teyla had been assigned quarters next door to one another. John wasn't sure how he felt about this. On one hand, he didn't want to be too far from his daughter. On the other hand, he wanted to be _very _far away from Teyla, if only to ease the tension he felt when he saw her. The first hand won out.

The Crib had been delivered whole to the Daedalus – John had strongly advised the two airmen who came to their apartment _not_ to take it apart – and it had been set up in Teyla's room.

John had taken his time unpacking his things and re-arranging his quarters. He was going to be there for almost a month, after all.

Almost a month of living right next door to Teyla. He didn't know if he was going to be able to take it.

After what John deemed a reasonable unpacking allowance, he had gone to the bridge. Caldwell wasn't there, but one of the technicians had allowed him to use the ship-wide communications to summon all the new recruits to a short briefing, just so he could meet them.

And also give him an excuse to stay away from Teyla.

John felt absolutely torn. He desperately wanted to spend time with Jasmine, but he _couldn't _spend time with Teyla. He just couldn't. Not that he didn't want to – quite the opposite in fact. But he needed to distance himself, to get over her. He needed to do it for the good of the expedition, the good of his sanity and the sake of his daughter.

It really, really _sucked_.

John wandered back to his quarters after his briefing with the newbies, reasoning that he couldn't avoid Teyla forever, and that he would have to talk to her at least a few times a day. As he rounded the corner onto their corridor he was confronted by a scene he had never expected to see.

Colonel Caldwell was standing outside Teyla's quarters, who was standing in the open doorway smiling at him. Caldwell had Jasmine cradled in one arm, and was making Soccer walk on thin air with his free hand, pulling faces at her and laughing when she smiled and reached for the bunny rabbit.

Caldwell looked up as John approached. He smiled widely. "Sheppard, I was just telling Teyla that your little girl is absolutely adorable," he said.

John had to smile back. "Thank you, Sir," he said. "I would have to agree with you."

Caldwell chuckled. "So, how does it feel to be a father?" He asked. "You must be pretty overwhelmed."

John shrugged. "Maybe at first," he said truthfully. "But she grows on you." He winked at Jasmine, who smiled at him just as though she knew what he was saying. He grinned.

Caldwell chuckled again.

"Thank you so much for your kindness, Colonel," said Teyla to Caldwell. "We have brought so many supplies with us –"

Caldwell shook his head. "It's no problem – really," he said. "It makes a nice change from memo pads and ice cream."

He smiled down at Jasmine and bounced her in his arms, making her smile again.

John smiled at the Colonel. It's amazing who would turn into a big softie when a baby was involved. "Still Sir, thank you," he said.

Caldwell nodded. "You're welcome Colonel," he said. "I'd better be getting back to the bridge, you want to take her?"

Without waiting for an answer, Caldwell deposited Jasmine in John's arms. He tickled her under her chin. "Well, I'm sure I'll see you all later," he said. With a nod, he strode off the way John had just come.

John watched him go, and then turned back to Teyla with his eyebrows raised. Teyla looked back at him, equally surprised.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Jasmine has some kind of magical power that makes everyone fall in love with her," John said.

Teyla smiled widely. John blinked and quickly looked down at Jasmine. _Her_ smile was much safer to look at.

"Everyone is very fond of her," Teyla agreed. "I have already had many members of the crew come to me and ask if they could babysit."

John forgot the danger of Teyla's smile and looked up again. "Really?" He asked in surprise.

Teyla nodded. "And not just to help us," she said. "But because they really truly _want _to babysit her." She smiled again. "It is rather sweet, really," she said.

John looked back down at Jasmine and shifted her in his arms to make her more comfortable. "That's probably a good thing," he said. "I'm going to be really busy with the new recruits."

"Really?"

"Yeah – I figured that since I'm here I can get a lot of their training and briefings in before we get to Atlantis," he said. "There are twenty-three military who need to be thoroughly briefed and kept in shape, and fifteen civilian, who I need to do basic weapons training with."

Teyla nodded. "I will probably be able to help you with some of the training and perhaps the briefings," she said.

John nodded back. He wasn't stupid enough to keep her from passing on her expertise to the newbies, and it would be very easy for him to arrange it so they were teaching different people.

Teyla smiled again. _She really had to stop doing that_.

"I was going to go to get something to eat," she said. "Are you hungry?"

John was going to answer no, but his stomach beat him to it. It rumbled loudly at the thought of food.

Teyla raised an eyebrow. "I will take that as a yes," she said. "Let me get Jasmine's carry-seat."

She disappeared into her quarters and John very quietly and very softly kicked the wall in frustration. Stupid traitorous stomach.

So much for avoiding Teyla.

_XXXXXXXXX_

As John had thought it would, avoiding Teyla did become quite easy as the days passed by. Far _too_ easy, actually. He was lucky if he saw her three times a day.

The Daedalus was not the best place for any kind of military training. There was a sizeable crew on the ship trying to do its job, and it was essential John and his newbies stayed out of the crew's way.

To solve this problem, John had split them into small groups, and had the groups on a rota of training sessions, which gave them the time to get used to their new lifestyles and each other, and kept him busy like he wanted to be.

Teyla had followed through on her offer of helping with training and briefing, and John organised it so they were rarely with the same group. If they were, it was generally at a briefing that Elizabeth was at as well.

John did see less of Jasmine than he would have liked, but he knew she was being well looked after. As Teyla had said, half the crew wanted to look after her at any given time, and so they were never short of anyone to leave her with as they trained the new recruits. It actually worked out quite well as it meant that more often than not John would collect Jasmine from someone who wasn't Teyla, thus cutting down his contact time with her even more.

His plan was working.

Well, it was working in that he was spending very little time with Teyla. It wasn't working in regards to lessening his feelings for her. If anything it made things worse – now he missed her as well as everything else. And he felt guilty.

Okay, so the plan wasn't working _at all_. But it was the only one he had, so he was sticking to it.

John had the feeling that Jack was onto him, though. General O'Neill had graciously allowed John to start calling him 'Jack' when they were off-duty, but his exact words had been – '_Sheppard, I'm going to let you start calling me Jack. However, don't take this as an indication that I think you are any less of an idiot_.'

He was sure that Jack knew he was avoiding Teyla. And every time he saw him their conversation at the SGC ran through his head, keeping it painfully fresh in his mind. Why had he had to say it out loud? Sure his silent thoughts and feelings would have eventually driven him mad, but not as quickly and painfully as this torture.

After almost two weeks, John wasn't sure how much more he could take. He hadn't realised the toll his plan would take on him.

He hadn't banked on how much he would miss Teyla. He missed talking to her, and laughing with her. He missed sparring with her, and eating meals with her. He missed her smile, and her laugh. He missed it all. He missed _her_.

His will was cracking. But he knew that if he stopped avoiding her he would definitely crack. And it would be bad. For both of them.

Still, though. The next two weeks were going to be hard.

_TBC_


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N – **_Okay, this is an absolute _beast _of a chapter, so good luck reading it! I hope it makes up for how long you've all had to wait for an update – I've been on holiday for the last few weeks.

After this there's just one more chapter and then the epilogue, if I decide to write one. Not sure if I will, though. We'll see.

As always, please review and let me know what you think.

P.S. I've had real trouble uploading this so I've had to split it in two and hope that works. Sorry about that!

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

John was avoiding her. Teyla could tell.

It had seemed perfectly innocent at first – there _were _a lot of new recruits to train, and Teyla understood that John wanted all them to be as prepared as possible before they reached Atlantis. But it had not escaped her notice that they were not training any of them together.

Teyla was fine with that. Until she realised that John was going to of his way to avoid her when he was not training the new recruits as well.

Their quarters on the Daedalus were next to each other, but they may as well have been on opposite ends of the ship. The one time of day that Teyla was sure of seeing John was in the evening when she put Jasmine to bed. He always made sure he was there to say good night to her and help to tuck her in. He would talk to Teyla then for a few minutes, before invariably making an excuse and running away.

As far as Teyla could tell John was spending as much time as possible with Jasmine, and for that she was glad. It was only herself that John avoided.

Teyla could not think why John was avoiding her all of a sudden. To her mind she had not said or done anything wrong, and he certainly had not said anything to her to indicate he was upset with her. He was just avoiding her.

For the first few days Teyla had not noticed. Then she had realised and had been confused. Her confusion had turned into hurt.

Now they had been on the Daedalus for two weeks and she was annoyed.

John was acting like an immature child! There was obviously something bothering him, but instead of telling her what it was so they could talk about it like responsible adults, he was acting as though she did not exist.

John was the main cause of Teyla's anger, but not the only one. For one, she severely disliked the Daedalus. She hated being confined to such a small space day after day, with no fresh air and no one to really talk to. She was very glad Elizabeth was on board, though she was busy getting up to speed with recent occurrences on Atlantis and her ongoing physiotherapy. Teyla got on well with Jack O'Neill, but the General was far more at ease on the Daedalus than she was. He spent a great deal of time playing computer games with the new recruits, and grudgingly going through a large stack of paperwork he had not finished before leaving Earth.

Even Jasmine had little time for her mother. There was a constant stream of babysitters begging to look after her, and Teyla let many of them do so, while she threw herself into training and briefing the new recruits. She knew that if she really wanted to she would be able to spend all her time with her daughter, but though the thought was tempting she knew it was foolish. When they got back to Atlantis and she and John once again resumed their duties on the team, Jasmine would have many different babysitters. It was sensible to let her daughter get used to it.

Still though, she tried to spend as much time with her as she could.

Adding to her frustration were some of the new recruits themselves. Teyla had known most of the 'newbies' to arrive on Atlantis in the past, and was aware that after a few weeks in the city they usually settled down and become valued members of the expedition. She had never known them when they were so… new… before.

Lieutenant Bellamy was one who was definitely trying her patience. He was one of the most arrogant men she had ever met, even though he was very young – younger than Lieutenant Ford had been when he had first arrived on Atlantis – and thought that because he had the ATA gene he was better than his peers.

Another was Captain Roster. He was just plain annoying. Teyla would not usually think ill of someone for such a trivial reason, but being unable to escape from all these people was grating on her nerves.

Teyla had thought of a remedy though – bantos training.

She had invited the Lieutenant and the Captain – and a few others – to a training session one afternoon when there was no other training going on. It was actually Lieutenant Bellamy who had given her the idea, as he had asked her about 'some funny alien martial art with sticks'. Teyla had decided it was only fair to give him first-hand experience of a bantos fight with her.

Word had got round about the training session, and a few more of the new recruits had shown up at the gym at the appointed time. Teyla did a quick head count before she started – there were _fourteen_ of them. She had never taught so many people at the same time, but she did not really mind.

She had only three sets of bantos sticks, and so the recruits had to take turns. Several of them opted out altogether and just watched, which made things a little easier.

Teyla went through the most basic moves with them all, before pairing them up and having them spar with each other, while everyone else watched. She was pleased to see that several of them showed talent – including Lieutenant Bellamy, who executed the movements with an amused smirk on his face. It was obvious that he found the moves rather feeble and the skill as a whole not particularly useful. Teyla just smiled sweetly and told him that he was very good.

After a couple of hours, Teyla started to spar with the recruits herself. She executed moves very slowly, talking through what she was doing. It was obvious that Bellamy was itching to spar with her and bring her down, but Teyla purposefully left him until last.

When it was finally his turn, Bellamy smirked at her. "Teyla, would you mind if we sparred properly?" He said.

Teyla raised an eyebrow at him. "Properly, Lieutenant?" She said. "What do you mean by that?"

The Lieutenant's smirk grew wider. "I mean that you don't have to provide a running commentary with me," he said. "And don't go easy on me either."

Teyla managed to keep her face passive as she nodded her head. "As you wish, Lieu-"

Teyla's voice broke off as the door to the gym behind Bellamy opened and John entered. Their eyes met and he stopped in his tracks.

He looked away quickly and scanned the room. All the new recruits, who had been sitting on the mats watching Bellamy and Teyla, jumped to their feet at the sight of their commanding officer.

John waved at them to sit down. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Just a training session, Colonel," answered Teyla shortly. She was pleased to see him, and that made her more annoyed with him. He was avoiding her, ignoring her, and yet her heart leapt at the sight of him.

John nodded. "So I see," he said. "I'll leave you to it."

"Sir, stay – Bellamy just asked Teyla not to go easy on him," said Lieutenant Rushwood, with an amused smile. "It should be interesting."

John's eyes flickered to Teyla again, and then to Bellamy. Teyla knew what he was thinking – he dearly wanted to see Teyla humiliate the Lieutenant. Teyla briefly considered letting him win just to annoy John, but decided against it. Bellamy needed to be taught a lesson.

John stood undecided, obviously undergoing some internal struggle. Teyla rolled her eyes. "Sit down, Colonel, so we can begin," she said.

John's eyes widened slightly but he did not sit down. Instead he leant back against the wall, his arms folded across his chest. Teyla turned her attention back to Bellamy.

"As I was saying Lieutenant," she said. "I will not 'go easy on you'."

Bellamy smiled. "Good," he said. Then he attacked.

It was a ridiculously easy swing to deflect, and Teyla quickly countered it with an attack of her own, swinging in her right rod at his ribs. Bellamy managed to deflect it with his own right rod, and in so doing left his right open to attack. Teyla spun to her right and hit him in the ribs before she finished turning. Bellamy doubled up protectively and Teyla hit him again on the back. He fell flat on his face and lay there groaning.

The recruits applauded, many of them trying not to laugh. Teyla glanced over at John. He was grinning from ear to ear, but had refrained from applause. He looked up at Teyla, and his smile faded a bit as their eyes met. Teyla narrowed her eyes at him and looked back down at Bellamy, who was slowly picking himself off the floor.

He scowled at Teyla. "I wasn't ready," he said petulantly, rubbing his ribs.

Teyla raised an eyebrow at him again and folded her arms, wondering if she should remind him that he had initiated the fight. "The Wraith do not wait for you to prepare yourself," she said instead.

Bellamy glared at her. "Are you really saying that this… _bantos_ stuff can be used against the Wraith?" He said. "I very much doubt that…"

"Well, despite your wealth of expertise when it comes to fighting the Wraith, Bellamy," said John, a dangerous edge to his voice. "You'd do well to believe it. I've seen Teyla in action. And believe me when I tell you that she _was_ going easy on you."

The new recruits glanced at each other and shifted uncomfortably, some of them eyeing Teyla with awe. Teyla narrowed her eyes at the Colonel again, her anger with him increasing. She did not need him to fight her battles for her, especially when he had been avoiding her for a fortnight.

She was going to talk to him as soon as this session finished, and find out what was going on. She would tie him to a chair if she had to. She was going to get to the bottom of this.

"Well, _Sir_, if you know so much about it, why don't _you_ try to beat Teyla?" Said Bellamy as he made his way to back to the mats, looking mutinous.

John glared at him. "Watch yourself, Lieutenant," he said. Bellamy obediently looked away as he sat down.

But the rest of the recruits obviously found the idea quite novel.

"Go on Sir!"

"You've got a better chance than any of us, Sir!"

"Have a go, Sir!"

"We promise not to applaud, Sir!"

John stood up straight, his hands falling to his sides. "No, I don't think so," he said, looking anywhere but at Teyla.

Teyla found herself curiously anxious to spar with the Colonel – the idea of working out her frustration by hitting him with sticks was a good one, in her opinion.

"Come now, Colonel," she said. "Do not be afraid."

John finally looked at her – gaped at her was more like it. "_Afraid_?" He repeated, as the recruits all laughed, gasped or whooped behind him.

Teyla raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged. "I would understand – we have never sparred in front of an audience before," she said.

John's eyes widened and he shook his head. He turned around and marched over to where Bellamy was sitting. "Give me those," he ordered, holding out his hands for the bantos rods.

_XXXXXXX_

_To be continued…_


	15. Chapter 15

A/N – Once again I'm so sorry I had to split this chapter up!! Very annoying but at least you can now read it. Anyway, please review!

_**Chapter Fifteen **__(though really it's more like 14B…)_

"_Come now, Colonel," she said. "Do not be afraid."_

_John finally looked at her – gaped at her was more like it. "Afraid?" He repeated, as the recruits all laughed, gasped or whooped behind him. _

_Teyla raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged. "I would understand – we have never sparred in front of an audience before," she said. _

_John's eyes widened and he shook his head. He turned around and marched over to where Bellamy was sitting. "Give me those," he ordered, holding out his hands for the bantos rods. _

_XXX_

Bellamy handed them over with a smirk. John, obviously noticing the smug look on the Lieutenant's face, expertly twirled the rods in his hands when they were handed to him. Bellamy's smirk vanished. The recruits watched, riveted, as John made his way to where Teyla was standing.

John stood and faced Teyla, his sticks held ready at his sides, his eyes not leaving her face. It was the first time he had looked at her properly for over a week and Teyla found it a little unnerving. It was almost as though he was making up for all the time he had lost in _not _looking at her; his eyes were boring into hers so intently.

John moved first, aiming a blow at her hip which she deflected and countered with a blow to the ribs. John deflected it and spun away from her. They had switched places on the mat, and stood facing each other once again.

John attacked again, and Teyla once again deflected the blow with ease. She knew that John was taking his time to get into the fight – he had not been sparring for two hours like she had, nor had he even warmed up. Teyla let him her test her defences, though after about a minute she was starting to form ideas of attacking him properly. Out of the corner of her eye she could see several of the recruits watching with interest, but not looking particularly impressed.

John, perhaps sensing she was a little distracted, attacked at that moment, with a blow aimed at her legs. Teyla jumped over the sticks only to have to duck straight away as soon as her feet hit the floor again, to avoid another blow. She quickly went on the offensive, aiming a blow at John's ribs as she straightened up. John managed to deflect it – just – but had to hastily take a step back. Teyla followed him, aiming blow after blow at his torso.

John managed to deflect them all and quickly they fell into their unique sparring rhythm, testing each other's defences and spinning away from and around each other when blows got a little too close.

Teyla was enjoying herself enormously, which only served to make her more annoyed with John. She had always enjoyed sparring with him – at first because he had been eager to learn and more recently because she loved to spend time with him. If he had not been _avoiding _her since they had arrived on the Daedalus, they could have sparred together before now. As it was, it had been almost a month since they had.

John feinted to his left and caught her by surprise with a blow aimed at her hip. Teyla spun away from it awkwardly, giving John the opportunity to aim another blow at her hip and push her, causing her to spin through the air and land heavily on the floor.

Teyla did not give John a chance to gloat – as soon as she hit the floor she spun her legs and kicked John's out from under him. He landed on his back next to her and before he could move she was kneeling over him, her staves crossed over his neck.

John's eyes were wide, staring up at Teyla as they both tried to get their breath back. Teyla stared back at him, desperately trying to remember that she was annoyed with him.

John looked like he was going to say something, but at that moment the fourteen recruits behind them burst into applause. Teyla looked round – even Bellamy was clapping, though he did so quite grudgingly.

John sat up and heaved himself to his feet, holding out a hand to help Teyla up as well. Teyla took his hand without really thinking about it, and almost jumped at the feeling of his hand on hers – she could not remember the last time he had touched her. Their eyes met and quickly Teyla looked away, withdrawing her hand from his. She was feeling breathless, and not because of the fight.

_Damn him_.

The bell announcing the beginning of dinner sounded over the ship's intercom and Teyla smiled at the recruits. "Well, that will be all for today," she said. "Perhaps we can train again some time next week."

As Teyla had expected, John started to walk away, but she was ready for that.

"Colonel, may I speak to you for a moment?"

John stopped and looked around at her, and Teyla did her best to not let her annoyance show on her face. She did not want to give him a reason to run away from her.

John looked highly reluctant to stay, but she could see by the way he glanced at the new recruits still filing out of the gym that he could not see a way out of the conversation in front of them. And he was right.

"Sure Teyla, what's up?" John said airily. His hands were in his pockets and he rocked on his heels slightly. Teyla had never seen him look so casual. Or so uncomfortable.

Teyla waited until all the recruits had filed out of the gym and the door closed behind them. Her eyes snapped back to John's face and she no longer tried to keep her anger with him hidden. John's eyes widened in shock and he landed on his heels with a small thump.

"You are avoiding me," Teyla said simply.

John immediately looked panicked. "What? I – I'm not," he stammered. He did not sound convincing. "I've been really busy with the –"

Teyla folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Please do not insult my intelligence Colonel," she snapped. "You have been avoiding me. Why?"

John gaped at her. "I –"

"Well?" Teyla said sternly.

John's shoulders slumped and he looked down at the floor. "You're right," he said after a moment. "I… look, I'm sorry, okay? It was stupid. I'll stop."

Teyla was not about to let him off so easily. "You have not answered my question, Colonel," she persisted. "_Why?_"

"I – I don't know," John said. He looked up at her again and shrugged. "Maybe it's the ship – I'm so cooped up on here I –"

"This is _not _because of the ship," Teyla interrupted, starting to lose her temper. Ordinarily she might have understood his feelings about the Daedalus, but she could tell he was lying. It was written all over his face.

"You were distant with me before we boarded the Daedalus, but you could not avoid me then," she said bitterly.

John gave her a pained expression. "Teyla –" he started.

But Teyla was lost in her memories thinking back to how things had been when they were on Earth. Everything had been fine – wonderful, in fact – until they had gone to the carnival. But even after that it had not been too awkward, not until…

Teyla's eyes widened and she fixed John with an accusing stare. "You have been acting strangely since your meeting with the IOA," she said.

John definitely looked panicked now. "I –"

"What happened?" She interrupted.

John was now looking at the wall behind Teyla. "I told you what happened," he replied.

Teyla narrowed her eyes at him. "John, what did the IOA say to you?" She asked.

John was looking anywhere but at Teyla, and even took a couple of steps back towards the door. Teyla's grip on her bantos rods tightened and she spoke through gritted teeth.

"_What did they say?_"

John swallowed. "They… they didn't want Jasmine on Atlantis," he said. Teyla's eyes widened in shock. How could he not have told her about this before?

Teyla's arms fell to her sides. "Well, I did not think they would be too happy…" she said quietly. It was true – she had been very surprised when John had returned from his meeting saying that the IOA had not raised any concerns. The fact that they had concerns did not worry her – but she was surprised and a little hurt that John had not told her about them.

"Why did you not tell me what they said?" She asked him now.

John glanced at her but looked away again immediately. Something in his look told Teyla that he still was not being completely truthful with her. And now she thought about it, why would what the IOA said about Jasmine make him avoid her?

"I – I sorted it all out there, and I didn't want to worry you…" he said in answer to her question. Teyla did not believe him for a second.

"What are you not telling me?" She asked sternly.

John had obviously thought she would believe him, and was so surprised he looked at her and did not look away again. "I – nothing," he said, very unconvincingly.

Teyla felt like shaking John Sheppard. "John, I am tired of this," she said, glaring at him again. "I want you tell me what is bothering you, _right now_."

John was gaping at her, his mouth opening and closing silently. Teyla's eyes narrowed mercilessly. "What did they say to you that is making you avoid me?"

John ran a hand through his hair nervously. "It's not what they… they didn't…" he mumbled.

Teyla's hands clenched into fists. "John!"

"It's what _I_ said!" He suddenly exclaimed.

Teyla stared at him, shocked by his outburst. He was still not looking at her, but now it was not because he was avoiding her gaze – it was as though he had forgotten she was in the room.

"They started going on about how us having a baby would ruin team dynamic and that they thought we would… that we might…"

Teyla's jaw dropped as she realised what he meant. "They said _what_?" She gasped. In some ways she was not surprised that the IOA would say such things to John, but she was acutely embarrassed that John had had to discuss their relationship - such a private matter that they had never even discussed it themselves - with practical strangers, and all on record.

She was no longer surprised that John had not told her about it.

John had started to pace, lost in his memories. "And I just lost it," he said. "I got so angry with them."

John did not look at her as he spoke, but Teyla still turned away so that he would not see the hurt his words caused her. She had never really entertained the thought that John felt the same way for her as she did for him, but to have him say it so plainly dashed any of the small hope she had allowed herself to build up over the past years.

John was still pacing.

"I said that there were no rules stopping us from starting a relationship and that it was none of their business," he said. Teyla's eyes widened and she looked back at him in shock, unable to breathe as he continued.

"I as good as told the _IOA_ that we were already a couple for crying out loud, and that there as nothing they could do to stop us," he said, a strange mixture of anger and disbelief on his face.

He stopped pacing and stood with his hands in his hair, looking past her at the wall. His eyes narrowed.

"It was just the way they were looking at me, and the way they were talking about you, I couldn't stand it!" He exclaimed.

Teyla took a tentative step towards him. "John –"

"It was like someone took over my body and the words just came out of my mouth," he said, seemingly unaware she had spoken. He hands dropped to his sides and he started to pace again.

"I told them that Jasmine wouldn't affect the day-to-day running of Atlantis, and neither would our relationship, and then I told them that we were going to have six more kids the old-fashioned way, and then I walked out!"

Teyla's heart felt like it was about to burst. A moment ago she had thought John had confirmed that he was just her friend – now he was saying things she had never dared to allow herself imagine.

"I couldn't believe I'd said it!" John was still in full swing. "I didn't regret it, and I meant it, but I'd never said it out loud before and as soon as I did it was like I couldn't get it out of my head and every time I see you I think about what I said and what Jack said to me after and I just can't take it, and I have to get away…"

John's voice trailed off as he stopped pacing. His expression turned from one of frustration to one of realisation and then finally mortification.

He did not even glance in Teyla's direction as he strode towards the door of the gym.

Teyla dropped her bantos rods to the floor and ran after him, catching his arm just as he reached for the door. She did not have the words to tell him how she felt about what he had just said, but she knew that if she let him leave the room her chance would be lost. The way he had been avoiding her would be nothing to what would happen if he left the gym now.

Teyla felt John tense as she gripped his arm and he hesitated for a moment. He started to turn his head to look at her but stopped himself at the last moment and tried to keep walking. Teyla did not let go of his arm though, and so he could not get far. He was only able to take one other step before he was forced to stop again and turn around to try and pull his arm out of Teyla's grip.

John's eyes were trained on the floor and his face was flushed. Teyla stared at him, desperately trying to think of something – anything – to say to him to convey the dozens of feelings rushing through her veins, but her mind was blank.

Teyla swallowed, and decided that the first thing to do would be to get him to look at her. "John?" she said.

John glanced at her when she said his name but looked away again straight away. Teyla still did not know what to say, but she knew exactly what to do.

Tightening her grip on his arm, Teyla grabbed the collar of his shirt in her free hand and pulled his face down to hers.

Teyla was far from gentle as their lips met – every emotion she felt that she could not find the words for was instead channelled into the kiss. John's mouth dropped open a little in surprise and Teyla used it to her advantage and deepened the kiss. She needed John to understand, and if this was the only way then so be it.

For a second John stood completely still, and Teyla's heart beat painfully against her ribs, suddenly full of doubt. What if she had completely misunderstood? But then John shifted his weight, his free hand raked into her hair and cupped the back of her head, and he kissed her back as though his life depended on it.

Teyla moaned as John kissed her so hard she was sure her lips would bruise. She let go of his arm and wrapped both her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. John's free arm snaked round her waist and pulled her body flush against his as the kiss continued.

After what felt like hours, but what had actually been only a minute or so, John and Teyla pulled apart, gasping for air but with their arms still wrapped tightly round each other.

Teyla still had her eyes closed, and she smiled when she felt John's forehead rest against hers. After a few moments she blinked her eyes open. John's eyes opened a second later and she stared into their green depths, smiling again. He smiled back.

Teyla cleared her throat and leant a bit. "So, are you still going to avoid me?" She asked teasingly.

John grinned and shook his head. "I really _am_ an idiot," he said.

There was something in his tone that Teyla did not quite understand, and she frowned slightly. "What?" She asked.

John shook his head again. "Never mind," he said, and he bent his head to kiss her again.


	16. Chapter 16

_As always, please review!_

**Chapter Sixteen**

John made his way down the corridor of the Daedalus towards the commissary, nodding and smiling to several people who passed him on his way. He was smiling a lot these days, for reasons that were quite obvious to everyone on the ship. He and Teyla had not even attempted to keep their relationship a secret, and though they hadn't exactly flaunted it or announced it over the tannoy, the whole population of the Daedalus seemed to find out within 24 hours.

John had been slightly surprised by their reaction – or lack of it. The new recruits had been a little shocked, but that was because they hadn't really seen John and Teyla together, thanks to his wonderful avoidance plan. But no one who actually _knew _them seemed surprised. Instead, as Jack had put it, 'they were relieved they had finally stopped dancing round each other'.

John was relieved too.

Even Colonel Caldwell hadn't minded – he had just told John not to screw it up. Elizabeth had smiled so wide it had looked like her face was going to split in two, and had told them both that it was about time.

The Daedalus trembled slightly as it dropped out of hyper-space next to Lantea, and John smiled again. The second fortnight on board the Daedalus had been infinitely more enjoyable than the first, but John was still glad to be home.

Teyla rounded a corner and stepped out into the corridor in front of John. She stopped when she saw him and smiled. John's heart rate doubled at the mere sight of her, and he smiled back at her.

"Hey," he said, stopping in front of her. He bent his head and kissed her. Teyla ran her hands over his chest and gripped his shoulders, and John felt her smile against his lips. John smiled as well as he pulled away, revelling in the fact that he was allowed to kiss her whenever he wanted. He knew he would never get tired of it.

"Are you on your way to the commissary?" Teyla asked, her hands still on his shoulders.

John nodded. "Yeah, I thought I'd better relieve Maine," he said.

Teyla smiled and nodded. "Yes, we had better do that before we arrive," she said. "Things are bound to get very chaotic."

They started to walk down the corridor again, Teyla's arm round John's waist and his round her shoulders.

"Actually, the Daedalus is pretty well-oiled when it comes to getting everything and everyone down to Atlantis," John told her as they walked.

"That is good to hear," Teyla said.

John smiled down at her. "Eager to get off the ship?" He asked, knowing the answer full-well.

"Very," Teyla answered.

"I just spoke to Rodney," John told her.

Teyla stopped and turned to look at him. "Did you tell him about us?" She asked.

John nodded.

"How did he take it?" Teyla asked.

John thought back on his conversation and quirked an eyebrow at Teyla. "Not well," he said.

Teyla looked surprised and then worried. Feeling a little guilty for playing with her, John was quick to elaborate.

"Apparently if we'd waited another three weeks he would have won the pool," he said, smirking. "As it is Lorne wins. Rodney's not happy."

Teyla frowned in confusion. "Pool?" She asked.

John laughed and quickly kissed her again, just because he could. "I'll explain later," he said as they started walking again, hand in hand. "Needless to say I'll be having words with Rodney and Lorne. And anyone else in it."

Teyla shook her head slightly but didn't say anything. They reached the end of the corridor and entered the commissary.

The room was full of personnel having a quick bite to eat before reaching Atlantis. Several people were standing by the wide windows, looking out at Lantea which was growing bigger by the second as the Daedalus prepared to go into orbit. However, the biggest group in the commissary didn't seem at all interested by the planet outside the ship. They were gathered around one of the tables, laughing at something.

At the centre of the group sat Captain Maine. Jasmine was sitting in her carry-seat, which was placed on the table in front of him, and he was smiling widely at her. John and Teyla glanced at each other and they wandered over to join the group. No one noticed them arrive.

"Okay, Jasmine, next question," Maine said, still grinning. "Should Rushwood give me his Monty Python collection?"

"Hey!"

Everyone but Lieutenant Rushwood laughed, and John and Teyla exchanged a bemused look. Maine held up his hands and the group fell silent.

"Okay, _yes_," he held up his right index finger, "or _no_," he held up his left index finger. He slowly lowered his hands so they were just in front of Jasmine. The group watched with baited breath as Jasmine eyed the hands in front of her, for all the world looking as though she knew what was going on. Then her little hand shot out and gripped Captain Maine's right finger.

The group burst out laughing – all except Rushwood of course, who immediately started protesting about the validity of Jasmine's answer.

"She always grabs that finger!" Rushwood cried. "You knew she'd say yes!"

Maine grinned. "Okay, okay, I'll ask another one," he said. The group fell quiet again.

"Jasmine, is Lieutenant Bellamy a complete blockhead?" He asked. He held up his left index finger. "_Yes_," he held up his right index finger, "or _no_."

Jasmine stared at his hands for a second, and then reached out and grabbed his left finger.

The group burst out laughing, and John couldn't help a smile, though he stopped as soon as he caught Teyla's eye. She raised an eyebrow at him and he nodded.

"Jasmine," he said, loud enough for everyone in the group to hear. They all stopped laughing as soon as they heard his voice, and Maine jumped to his feet, looking guilty.

John raised an eyebrow at him and stepped past him so he was closer to Jasmine. He looked down at his daughter and cleared his throat. "Is Captain Maine going to be scrubbing bedpans in the infirmary as soon as we get to Atlantis?"

"_Yes_," he held up his right index finger, "_or no_," he held up his left.

Jasmine smiled up at John as he finished speaking. He wiggled his fingers to get her attention, and she directed her gaze at them instead. Then she clamped her fist around his left finger.

The group was silent as John looked up at Captain Maine. "Well," he said slowly. "You're lucky my daughter likes you."

Teyla laughed and the rest of the people standing round took it as a cue to start laughing as well. John smirked and scooped up Jasmine's carry-seat, bending down to place a kiss on Jasmine's forehead.

"Sorry Sir," Maine said as John straightened up.

"Don't let me catch you saying things like that again," he answered. Maine nodded. John looked round at the group. It was mostly made up of new recruits, with a few of the Daedalus crew thrown in. "I hope you're all packed," he said. "It'll only be a few minutes now."

As he had expected half of them looked panicked and ran off, presumably to do some last-minute packing. John extricated himself from the group and he and Teyla headed back out of the commissary, making their way towards the bridge.

John hadn't been lying about the efficiency of the Daedalus. The crew on the bridge were performing their jobs with a practised precision, and Colonel Caldwell sat in the middle of it all, directing everyone.

Jack O'Neill stood by the door, and nodded as John and Teyla entered. "We're just entering orbit," he told them, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

The three of them turned to look out of the main window – the huge ocean of Lantea lay before them, and though it wasn't visible from this altitude somewhere in the middle lay Atlantis.

The bridge door opened again and Elizabeth entered, smiling widely.

"Excited?" John asked as she came and stood next to them.

She nodded. "Yes, but I still think we should have told –"

"Nah, it's more fun this way," said Jack.

The Daedalus suddenly stopped descending and Colonel Caldwell looked expectantly at the technician on his right. She looked up at him. "Stable orbit, Sir," she said.

Caldwell nodded and stood up. "Open a radio link with Atlantis," he said.

"Done Sir."

"Atlantis, this is Caldwell. The Daedalus is in orbit and ready to start transporting personnel and supplies," he said.

There was a moment's silence and then Chuck's voice sounded in the bridge. "_Welcome back, Daedalus, please begin transporting when ready_."

"Thank you, Atlantis, stand by."

Colonel Caldwell turned to face John, Teyla and the others and smiled. "So, who wants to go first?"

XXXXX

The Atlantis control room looked the same as always. John hadn't been expecting it to change, but it was reassuring nonetheless. He, Teyla and Jasmine appeared right next to the control console where Chuck sat, Rodney standing right behind him. They both jumped.

John grinned. "Hey," he said.

Rodney glared at him for a moment but couldn't keep it up. "Thanks for that," he said. Then he was smiling. "So, welcome back."

"Thanks," John said.

"Thank you Rodney," said Teyla.

Rodney walked over to them and peered down at Jasmine, who stared back at him. There seemed to be some battle of wills going on, and Rodney looked away first. "She's bigger," he said, looking back up at John and Teyla.

John raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, babies tend to do that," he said sarcastically.

"Hey."

"Hello Ronon," said Teyla, smiling as the Satedan came and stood behind Rodney.

John smiled too. "How's it going? I miss anything good?"

Ronon shook his head, but Rodney squared his shoulders. "Well, actually, I've made quite an interesting breakthrough in –"

"SO," Ronon cut him off loudly. "McKay tells us that you two are together now."

John and Teyla looked at each other and smiled.

"Finally," Ronon added, smirking.

Rodney snorted. "Couldn't have waited three more weeks, though, could you?" He whined. He noticed John and Teyla were still looking at each other and groaned. "Oh no, you're going to be one of those really annoying sickly-sweet couples, aren't you?"

John looked back at Rodney but before he could answer Sam entered the control room from her office, a huge smile on her face.

"Welcome back!" She said happily, walking over to them. "Have fun?"

"Fun… yeah, I guess," John said. Fun wasn't quite the word he'd have used, but it would do.

Sam was still smiling. "How's Jasmine?" She asked.

"Fine, thank you," said Teyla, smiling back.

"Did they like having her on the Daedalus?"

"Yeah, they loved it," said John.

"Well, it's good to have you back," said Sam earnestly.

"It is good to _be_ back," said Teyla with equal fervour.

Sam chuckled. "Did you like Earth?" She asked.

Teyla nodded. "Very much," she said. She smiled at John again.

"We brought you a present," John said to Sam, winking at her. Sam looked surprised.

Teyla smiled wider. "Actually, we brought you two," she said.

Rodney looked hurt. "Nothing for me?" He asked.

At that moment the sound of the Daedalus' transporter beam filled the room and Sam's eyes widened.

"Oh my – Jack!" She cried, pushing past Ronon and hurrying over to where Jack had appeared. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly before stepping back and kissing her, one hand on her swollen stomach.

"I'm guessing that was one of her presents?" Asked Rodney, turning back to John and Teyla.

"Yeah," said John with a grin. "The other present's for all of us."

"Is it popcorn?" Ronon asked hopefully.

John and Teyla exchanged an amused glance as the same transporter sound filled the room again. "Not quite," they said simultaneously.

"Elizabeth!" Cried Sam in shock, for Elizabeth had appeared a few feet away from where she and Jack stood.

Elizabeth smiled happily, her eyes shining as she looked around the control room and the shocked people in it.

"Hi everyone," she said.

Sam was grinning from ear to ear. "Welcome back!" She exclaimed, squeezing her hand.

Elizabeth turned her smile on her. "Thanks for holding the fort, Sam," she said.

Sam laughed. "Thank _you_ for coming back!" She replied.

Elizabeth laughed as well. "Believe me, it's my pleasure," she said. She looked back round at Rodney and Ronon who were walking towards her. "Hi guys," she said. "How are - woah – I missed you too Rodney!" She laughed as Rodney pulled her into a fierce hug and grinned at him as he let go.

"How are you?" Ronon asked.

"Fine, thanks Ronon," she said, smiling at him too. She looked round the room again, as though trying to absorb the sight of it. "It is _so_ good to be back!"

"You are back for good, right?" Asked Rodney.

"Hey!" Sam said indignantly, though she was laughing as well.

Elizabeth laughed and nodded. "Yes, Rodney, I'm back for good," she said. "There's no getting rid of me."

"Great!" Rodney exclaimed. "Well, in that case there's a lot we need to catch you up on. I've been working on a way to increase energy output from our generators and if I could just –"

"Rodney, let her breathe first!" Sam exclaimed, still laughing.

John felt Teyla's hand slip into his and turned to look at her. She smiled at him and nodded to the exit of the control room. John nodded back and they left the room. No one noticed.

They walked down the stairs to the gate room and through it into one of the corridors. They passed quite a few people who all greeted them enthusiastically, and all glanced significantly at their entwined hands as they hurried off.

The sixth time this happened Teyla started to laugh and rested her head on John's shoulder. John let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, grinning. "They'll get used to it," he said.

Teyla nodded. "I know," she said, smiling. She looked at her watch and then at John. "We have a lot to do," she said. "There are all the supplies that we have to find room for and Jasmine will need to be fed soon and –"

"I'll deal with the supplies, don't worry about it," John said. "I'll have a word with Sergeant Vincent about finding a room for everything and I'll let Caldwell know. But let's show Jasmine Atlantis first."

Teyla frowned. "What do you mean?" She asked.

John just smiled. "Come on," he said.

They kept walking for a few more minutes until they came to a small door leading to the left. John led the way through it and along two more narrow corridors that Teyla had never been down. The corridors led to a twisting flight of steps, and then another, short corridor.

"John, where are we going?" Teyla asked as they walked up the stairs.

"You'll see," John said. "I found this place a few months ago when I was playing hide and seek with Ronon – long story, don't ask." He looked back over his shoulder at Teyla and saw she was shaking her head and rolling her eyes. He grinned and kept walking.

Jasmine was starting to get hungry and she didn't like the sudden dark and quiet. She whimpered slightly and John held her seat close to his chest, and tickled her chin. "It's okay, Jasmine, we'll feed you in a minute," he said. "But trust Daddy – you've got to see this first."

He swiped his hand over the control crystal in the wall and the door at the end of the corridor slid open, flooding the hallway with sunlight.

Teyla blinked and held up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. John grinned as he watched the look on her face change from confusion to delight. He had led her to a balcony high up in the central tower of Atlantis. It was small and out of the way, and though it wasn't quite as high up as the main balcony by the control room it nonetheless held a spectacular view over Atlantis.

Teyla stepped out onto the balcony and looked around, a radiant smile on her face. The sun picked out the highlights in her hair and made it shine like spun gold, and her eyes shone as she surveyed the city laid out before them. John had never seen her look more beautiful.

"This is beautiful, John," Teyla said, turning round and fixing her smile on John.

John leaned his shoulder against the door frame and smiled back at her. "My thoughts exactly," he said.

Teyla rolled her eyes and shook her head slightly, and John stood up straight, grinning. He walked out onto the balcony and carefully lifted Jasmine's carry-seat so that she was facing out over the city.

"Well, Jasmine, welcome to Atlantis," he said. "As far as we know you're the first baby to born here in over ten thousand years, which isn't a bad record to have."

Teyla stepped closer to John and slid her arms around his waist. "Thank you," she said, smiling up at him.

"For what?"

Teyla looked down at Jasmine and over the city again before answering. "For my home," she said. She looked back up at him and smiled again. "And for my family."

John found it hard to respond and cursed himself – he was always useless at this kind of conversation. "I – yeah."

Yep, he was a regular Shakespeare.

Teyla didn't seem to mind his lack of response. She tightened her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder, looking out over the city again.

"I love you, John," she said quietly. So quietly John almost didn't hear her. But he did, and his throat closed up. He let out a shaky breath and stepped away from Teyla.

She released her hold on him and let him step away, hurt evident in her eyes. John looked away quickly and spoke to Jasmine.

"Excuse me, Jasmine, just for a second," he said. He carefully placed her carry-seat on the floor, facing towards the door. Then he straightened up, took two steps towards Teyla, placed on one arm round her waist, one hand on the back of her head, and kissed her.

Teyla was surprised for a moment but quickly started to kiss him back, her arms reaching up around his neck and holding him close to her. He body pressed into his as he dipped her slightly, plundering her mouth with his tongue and making her moan with pleasure. John smiled slightly as he stood up straight again, pulling Teyla up with him, and slowly ended the kiss.

John rested his forehead against Teyla's and watched her as she tried to get her breath back. She blinked her eyes open and looked at him, her eyes slightly glazed over. She blinked again and they were as bright and lively as ever, and she smiled.

"I love you too," John said before he lost his nerve.

Teyla chuckled. "Yes, I guessed," she said.

Before John could respond Jasmine decided to let her parents know that she didn't appreciate being forgotten on the floor, and John and Teyla grinned at each other before breaking apart. Teyla scooped up the carry-seat and held it close. Jasmine didn't stop crying and Teyla raised an eyebrow at John.

"I think she wants to be fed, _now_," she said.

John nodded, still grinning. "Come on, let's go back – I'll sort out our supplies and we can get this one some food," he said. He placed an arm around Teyla's shoulders and the two of them left the balcony, the doors sliding shut behind them.

XXXXXX

_Just the epilogue to go now… (silent tear…) _


	17. Epilogue

Well, here it is. The end of the road. I've finally finished it, and while I'm very happy I'm also a little sad to see my very first SGA WIP come to an end. Still, I guess it frees up time to work on my other three… :P

Thank you so, so much to everyone who reviewed this story – I've been completely overwhelmed by the nice things that everyone has said, and by the sheer amount of reviews I've received. Please be sure to let me know what you think of the epilogue!

This was going to be a very short follow-up but somehow turned into a beast that took the whole day to write. It's complete and utter fluff. Enjoy!

Ruby xx

_**Epilogue **_

"Ow!"

John wrenched his head to the side, and his daughter's chubby two-year-old fist let go of his hair. She laughed at him delightedly when he turned indignant eyes on her. John bounced her in his arms and she laughed again.

"Hands off the hair," he said sternly, though he was grinning as he said it.

John bounded up the steps from the gateroom and entered the control room, where he found Elizabeth talking to Chuck. They both looked up at him when he walked in.

"Hey, have you guys seen Jasmine and Georgia?" He asked. "Evan had them but I saw him heading to the infirmary with Dr Seaborn and I thought I'd better let him just go…"

"Rodney has them," Elizabeth cut in.

John blinked. "But Rodney's working isn't he?" He asked.

"Yes," said Elizabeth.

"So he has them in his _lab_?" John asked, horror-struck.

"I think so –"

"Is he _crazy_?!" John exclaimed. "Jasmine by herself is bad enough, but with _Georgia_? I'd better get down there before something explodes…"

John hurried out of the room to the sound of Elizabeth and Chuck laughing behind him. He made it to the nearest transporter in record time and stepped inside. He looked down at his daughter and raised his eyebrows.

"So what do you think, Lottie?" He asked. "Should we go and stop Jasmine destroying the city?"

Lottie grinned at him. "'Lantis!" She said happily.

John grinned back as he activated the transporter. "Yes, Atlantis," he said. "Your sister is going to blow it up if we don't get to Uncle Rodney's lab right now."

"Unca Ronee?"

"Uh-huh," John said, stepping out of the transporter just down the corridor from Rodney's lab.

There were no flames, no smoke and no screams of panic. John took this as a good sign, but that didn't stop him walking as fast as he could to the lab.

The door of the lab slid open and the first thing John saw was his daughter's hand moving towards a large button, above which a red light was blinking. John saw it all as though it was slow motion, and froze.

"Jasmine!" John cried out. "_Don't touch that!_"

Jasmine jumped a foot in the air and turned to stare at her father, her eyes wide with shock.

John's eyes swept the room – Rodney was sitting at a desk near the back of the lab, working on a laptop. He was also staring at John in shock. Georgia O'Neill was standing next to Jasmine, her big blue eyes – just like her mother's – looking at John like he was crazy.

She looked a lot like her father when she looked at John like that.

John looked back at Jasmine as he walked into the lab. "Do you even know what that button _does_?" He asked her.

Jasmine looked at the button and then back at John. "It turns on the microwave," she said.

John looked at the button again and for the first time realised that it was, in fact, on the front of a microwave. John blinked and looked back up at Rodney.

"You have a microwave in your lab?" He asked.

Rodney shrugged. "I get hungry," he said.

"Unca Ronee!" Lottie cried out gleefully as soon as she heard Rodney's voice. Rodney rolled his eyes and went back to his work, but John could clearly see his friend trying not to smile.

John looked back at Jasmine and gave her a lopsided grin. "Okay, you can push the button," he said.

Jasmine grinned back and did so. It had been set to ten seconds and the inside lit up, so John could see a mug inside it.

"You're warming up Rodney's coffee?" He guessed.

Jasmine and Georgia nodded. John shook his head.

"Jasmine, have I taught you nothing?" He asked. "Come on, let's go."

"What about my –" The beep of the microwave sounding cut off the rest of Rodney's question, but John knew what he was going to say. He motioned for Jasmine and Georgia to leave the lab, which they did, giggling.

"See you Rodney, thanks," John said, giving him a jaunty wave as he left. Rodney glared at him.

"Dad, is Dr Seaborn okay?" Jasmine asked as they walked towards the transporter.

"Well, I saw Colonel Lorne taking him to the infirmary," John answered. "What happened to him?"

"He trapped his hand in a door," Georgia piped up. "We heard it crack!"

Georgia had just turned seven, though she looked about four and had the sense of humour of a certain fifty-something man. And every now and then she came out with things that made it abundantly clear that Bart Simpson had been a large part of her upbringing.

"It was really gross," Jasmine added. John thought that she didn't look particularly disturbed by the memory. Living on Atlantis for seven years had desensitised his daughter to quite a degree.

John couldn't quite decide whether this was a good or a bad thing.

"We can check on him when we get to the infirmary," John told the girls as they reached the transporter. "But I'm sure he'll be fine."

They got to the infirmary a few minutes later, and found Dr Seaborn sitting on a bed near the door, his left hand heavily swollen and being checked over by Dr Kellar. She nodded at them when they entered but quickly went back to concentrating on her patient.

"There, see? He's fine," John said. He started to walk across the infirmary but had to stop after a few steps. Jasmine and Georgia were no longer following him – instead they had stopped and were watching Dr Kellar tend to Dr Seaborn's broken hand with a kind of morbid fascination.

"Jasmine, Georgia, heel!" John said sternly. The girls followed him, looking sheepish.

John rolled his eyes at Lottie, who tried to mimic him and ended up just looking to her right. "Not quite, sweetie," he said with a grin.

They reached a door on the other side of the infirmary – John knocked gently and pushed it open.

There were two beds in the room – Teyla was sitting up in one of them, and smiled widely when John walked in. She was wearing a shapeless white hospital gown and her hair was unbrushed and hanging knotted around her shoulders.

John grinned at her. She looked _amazing_.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Lottie started squirming in John's arms as soon as she saw Teyla, and John walked across to the bed and deposited the two-year-old next to her mother.

He bent down and placed a kiss on Teyla's forehead. "Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked.

"I am fine," she answered, still smiling. She gathered Lottie up into a hug.

Jasmine and Georgia came in and stood next to Teyla's bed; John grinned at them both and wandered over to the corner nearest to them, where there stood a clear plastic crib.

John looked down at his day-old daughter, who was sleeping peacefully. She already seemed to be a pretty deep sleeper, which would serve her well in the Emmagen-Sheppard household. Her tiny eyelashes flickered slightly as her chest moved up and down. John's stomach fluttered and his throat felt suddenly thick.

It was the fifth time, and it didn't get old. John knew it never would.

John rocked slightly as something about as high as his hip barrelled into his legs. He stood still as if he hadn't noticed for a few seconds, and then suddenly reached down and threw the boy standing next to him over one shoulder.

William squealed and then burst out laughing. John spun round really fast a couple of times and then lowered his son to the ground, knowing in a few seconds he'd have to do the exact same thing again.

Sure enough, Tagan barrelled into his legs a second later. "I wanna go!" He demanded, grinning up at John.

John looked down at him with mild surprise. "Oh, hi Tagiam, fancy seeing you here," he said. He really had no trouble telling Tagan and William (named for their grandfathers) apart, but always called them Tagiam and Willan anyway, just to tease them. The only times he used their names properly was when one or both of them misbehaved.

He liked to pretend that being able to tell the twins apart in those situations was a special power of his.

Tagan laughed. "Daaaaad…" He whined.

John picked him up, but instead of putting him over his shoulder he flipped him over and held him upside down.

"So, anyone hungry?" He asked nonchalantly. Jasmine and Georgia were perched on the edge of Teyla's bed, and laughing. William was crouched on the floor, his face level with his brother's, also laughing.

Lottie was cuddled up next to Teyla and didn't have a clue what was going on. Teyla was grinning widely, but shook her head. "John, put him down," she said.

John blinked at her innocently. "Put who down?" He asked.

"John!"

John grinned and flipped Tagan back up, and then put him down next to his brother. Tagan staggered around dramatically, pretending to be dizzy. William pulled him into a headlock.

John left them to it. They were five and they were hard to keep up with sometimes. He walked over to the spare bed and sat down on it.

"My Dad told me to give you a message," Georgia said.

John raised his eyebrows. Georgia had arrived on Atlantis that morning, to keep Jasmine sane while she was forced to spend so much time with Tagan and William. She and Jasmine had been best friends since they were babies.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" John asked.

Georgia looked confused as she spoke. "He said 'four down, two to go'," she told them.

John snorted and looked at Teyla, trying not to laugh. She raised her eyebrows at him before turning to look at Georgia again.

"You can tell your father that _he _can give birth to the next two," she said.

Georgia looked even more confused and John started to laugh.

Tagan and William appeared next to Teyla's bed and both started talking at once.

"We have a name for the baby –"

"– were watching Lord of the Rings –"

"– can we call her Isildur –?"

"No! That's a _boy's_ name! We should call her Arwen –"

"That's a _stupid _name!"

John shook his head and looked away, just as Jasmine looked over her shoulder and grinned at him. He grinned back and tilted his head, beckoning her over. Jasmine slid off the bed, walked over to where he was sitting, and clambered up onto his lap.

John wrapped an arm round her middle and pushed her long black hair back behind her ear. He kissed her temple and hugged her tightly.

"So, what do you think we should call her?" He asked her quietly.

Jasmine leaned back and looked at him, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. It was the exact same look that Teyla got when she was thinking about something. Jasmine looked more and more like her every day.

"Well…" she said thoughtfully. "I was reading a book last week –"

John remembered. It was in French. Jasmine was already fluent in five languages, and one of them was Ancient.

His plan to keep her from becoming an egg-head hadn't really worked, but at least she liked football.

"There was a girl called Amelia," finished Jasmine.

John raised his eyebrows. "Amelia?"

Jasmine shrugged. "I think it's pretty," she said.

John smiled at her. "I think it's pretty too," he said. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, and she hugged him back.

John rested his cheek against the top of Jasmine's head and looked over at the rest of his family. Tagan and William were still talking, and William was now holding onto Teyla's hand and bouncing up and down.

Teyla was still smiling, but in a slightly strained way.

"Daddy?" Said Jasmine.

John didn't move. "Yeah?"

"I think you should go rescue Mommy now."

John grinned and sat up straight. He kissed Jasmine on the cheek and she jumped off his lap, smiling.

John jogged round to the other side of the bed and snuck up behind Tagan and William. Before they even knew he was there he had one under each arm and was heading towards the exit.

"I'll be right back – I'm just going to lock these two in the brig," John called over his shoulder.

Tagan and William both started protesting, loudly, and John quickly put them down and clamped a hand over each mouth, crouching down in front of them.

"Okay, I won't lock you up if you both stop bugging Mommy," John said. Tagan and William glanced at each other and then nodded in unison.

"I'm serious," John said. "If you wake up the baby it's the brig for both of you."

They nodded again and John let go, eyeing them suspiciously. They both looked at him, twin pictures of complete – and silent – innocence.

"Okay then," John said, standing up. He looked back round – Georgia had her hand clamped to her mouth to stop herself from laughing too loudly and Jasmine was using the pillow from the spare bed for the same reason.

Teyla had one arm wrapped around Lottie, and her head to one side as she smiled at him. John returned the smile and walked back over to her bed.

Georgia jumped up as he came closer and went to join Jasmine. John could hear Tagan and William whispering behind him but he didn't look round to see what they were up to now – he only had eyes for Teyla.

When he reached the bed John perched carefully on the side. He stretched out one leg next to Teyla's, keeping on foot on the floor to steady himself, and placed one arm round her shoulders.

He kissed her lightly on the lips. Teyla nuzzled into his neck when he pulled back, and John tightened his arm.

"Thank you, John," she said.

John kissed her again, on her forehead. "You're welcome," he said. He glanced over at the newest member of their family. "Jasmine wants to call her Amelia."

John felt Teyla smile against his neck. "I like that."

"So do I."

"Jasmine, Tagan, William, Charlotte and Amelia…" Teyla said. She was sounding very sleepy.

"I'll take them to get food in a minute," said John.

"In a minute," Teyla said.

John smiled. "The quiet won't last, you know," he said.

Teyla laughed slightly. "I know," she said. "But still… in a minute…"

John sighed and closed his eyes, his chin resting on top of her head.

In fact, the quiet lasted all of ten seconds. But John wouldn't have it any other way.

**The End**


End file.
